TRANSPORT

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of constructing High Speed 2 adjacent to existing transport corridors and not tunnelling the route.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd published a review of route alignments for HS2 Phase One in January 2012, in particular reviewing the case for an alignment in the Chiltern Line and M40 corridors and an alignment in the M1 corridor. These were found to cost £3 billion and £2.2 billion more than the consultation route respectively. Neither route could be built to the same design speed as HS2 with both options therefore producing fewer economic benefits than the consultation route.
	The route for Phase Two is currently the subject of a public consultation. On the eastern leg a significant proportion of the route runs in existing transport corridors (the M42 and the M1). The options report published by HS2 Ltd reviewed a short listed alternative alignment in the M6 corridor rather than the WCML corridor that is the subject of the consultation.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether High Speed 2 will be used for freight.

Robert Goodwill: The new HS2 infrastructure is expected to be built to accommodate the larger ‘GC’ gauge trains associated with high speed railways so it may be technically possible for high speed freight trains such as the CAREX air freight trains to operate over HS2 subject to capacity on the line to accommodate such trains.
	The HS2 scheme design does not make provision for any associated rail freight facilities.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what maximum reduction in value of a property negatively affected by High Speed 2 his Department considers acceptable.

Robert Goodwill: The market value of buildings scheduled for demolition in order to build HS2 will be greatly reduced. Owners of those buildings will be entitled to compensation according to the terms of the Compensation Code. The Government is currently consulting on proposed discretionary policies to provide further support to property owners around the HS2 Phase One route. One of the aims of those proposals is to encourage normal local property market conditions where possible. We will consider respondents' views before taking final decisions.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings his Department has had with the (a) British Bankers Association, (b) Council of Mortgage Lenders and (c) Association of British Insurers on compensation and blight related matters prior to the launch of the recent consultation on compensation relating to High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd officials meet the Council of Mortgage Lenders as part of a multilateral group of interested organisations, and those meetings have included discussion of the emerging proposals. No meetings on this subject have been held with the British Bankers Association or the Association of British Insurers.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the cost of constructing High Speed 2 is intended to be used for compensation for (a) private households and (b) businesses on the route of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 up until the beginning of train services on that route.

Robert Goodwill: It is not possible to provide this information in the form requested. We do not expect to be able to estimate the costs of purchasing land from owner-occupiers to this level of detail until we have concluded the current consultation and decided our approach to discretionary compensation, and we do not expect to be able to estimate the costs of compensation for businesses to this level of detail until after the passage of the proposed Hybrid Bill.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many households will experience a diminution in value of their property due to the proximity of High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: We do not hold this data. It would be impossible to construct such a forecast because the predicted effect of the railway in a given location is only one factor that influences confidence in the housing market. We are currently consulting on discretionary purchase schemes to enable those most affected by generalised blight to sell their homes to the Government at unblighted values through purchase schemes or via a property bond.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many households are within (a) one mile of the line and (b) 250 metres of a tunnel for (i) Phase 1 and (ii) Phase 2 of the proposed route for High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: The information is in the following tables:
	
		
			 Properties within one mile of the line when it runs on the surface: 
			 Route Number 
			 Phase 1 211,388 
			 Phase 2 281,666 
		
	
	
		
			 Properties within 250metres of the line when it runs in tunnel: 
			 Route Number 
			 Phase 1 28,747 
			 Phase 2 17,718 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. These figures show numbers of residential properties as a proxy for households. 2. Numbers are estimates obtained from Ordnance Survey data combined with Royal Mail data based on properties with a postal delivery address. 3. Numbers for Phase 2 refer to the alignment used in the current Line of Route consultation. 4. Some properties in the Euston/HS1 Link areas will be counted in both tables.

Parking: Fines

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made a decision on the application by the Local Government Association to raise the level of parking fines outside London to the same levels as inside the capital.

Robert Goodwill: No decision has yet been taken. This matter remains under consideration.

TREASURY

Banks: Pay

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on HM Treasury's approval of bonuses paid to employees of Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury does not approve the bonuses of employees at Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This is a decision for the banks' Remuneration Committees.
	The Government's investments in RBS and LBG are managed by UK Financial Investments (UKFI) on an arm's length and commercial basis.
	UKFI engages with the Remuneration Committees of both banks to assess whether reasonable judgment in relation to their approach to directors' remuneration has been exercised in line with UKFI's objective of protecting and creating value for the taxpayer.
	The Government has been clear that banks must act responsibly in setting their bonuses.
	Bonus pools at almost all major UK banks declined during the last bonus round, with an even more significant decline when compared to 2010: for example, the bonus pool at Royal Bank of Scotland's investment bank was 20% lower this year than last year, and almost 70% lower than 2010. Overall bonus pools in the financial sector have also declined significantly: the Centre for Economics and Business Research has estimated that this year's City bonuses will be less than half of what was paid out last year and 85% lower than was paid out in 2007.

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available.

Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury did not make any payment via the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available (2012-13).

Convention On the Protection of the European Communities' Financial Interests

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how the requirements of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests are implemented in the UK; and whether the Government intends to retain these implementing measures unchanged assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by the Convention under Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions Annexed to the EU treaties;
	(2)  in how many cases in the UK in each of the last five years instruments, proceeds or property of equivalent value to proceeds of the acts, the UK is required to criminalise under the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests and its Protocols were seized or confiscated; and what the value was of such instruments, proceeds or other property in each case;
	(3)  how the First Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests in the UK is implemented; and whether the Government intends to retain these implementing measures unchanged assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by the Protocol under Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties;
	(4)  which requirements of the First Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests have not been implemented in the UK;
	(5)  which requirements of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests are not implemented;
	(6)  which of the requirements of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of European Communities' financial interests have not been implemented in the UK;
	(7)  how the requirements of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests are implemented in the UK; and whether the Government intends to retain these implementing measures unchanged assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by the Protocol under Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties;
	(8)  in how many cases in each of the last five years UK authorities co-operated with authorities of another EU Member State due to the provisions of Article 6(2) of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, including Article 6(2) as it is extended by the First Protocol and Second Protocol to the Convention; and what the substance and outcome of the co-operation was in each case;
	(9)  whether the Government intends to maintain unchanged the co-operation required by Article 6 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, including Article 6 as it is extended by the First Protocol and Second Protocol to the Convention, assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by the Convention under Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and what assessment he has made of whether that co-operation will continue;
	(10)  in how many cases Article 6 of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests has enabled or required co-operation between the UK and one or more other EU member states that would not otherwise have occurred in each of the last five years;
	(11)  in how many cases authorities in the UK have (a) provided and (b) received information as a result of Article 7(2) of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests in each of the last five years; what the cost to UK public funds has been of such an information exchange; what assessment he has made of the usefulness of this information exchange for the fight against the offences in question; whether the Government intends to maintain this information exchange unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by the Second Protocol pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and how the Government intends to maintain this information exchange in future;
	(12)  what specific actions have been undertaken (a) by and (b) in relation to the UK as a result of Article 7(1) of the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests in the last five years; what the frequency of such actions has been; what the cost to UK public funds has been of such co-operation; what assessment he has made of the usefulness of this co-operation for the fight against the offences in question; whether the Government intends to maintain this co-operation unchanged if the UK ceases to be bound by the Second Protocol pursuant to Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties; and how the Government intends to maintain this co-operation in future;
	(13)  in how many cases in each of the last five years UK authorities co-operated with the authorities of another EU Member State due to the provisions of Article 6(1) of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, including Article 6(1) as it is extended by the Frist Protocol and Second Protocol to the Convention; and what the substance and outcome of the co-operation was in each case.

Nicky Morgan: The UK is compliant with all the requirements of the Convention, First Protocol and Second Protocol on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests via the Theft Act 1968, Criminal Justice Act 1993, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Fraud Act 2006, and the Bribery Act of 2010. The Government has no plans to repeal this legislation and cooperation will continue as it does under current practice.
	The Government does not hold data relating specifically to the protection of the European Communities' financial interests. However, the Commission's estimates of irregularities reported as fraudulent in their latest Fight Against Fraud report can be found here:
	http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/reports/communities-reports/index_en.htm
	and the European Anti-Fraud Office Report:
	http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/reports/olaf-report/
	both published online annually.

Electronic Surveillance: Exports

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions Ministers or officials of his Department have had with their EU counterparts on the unlicensed export of Finfisher intrusion software from the UK.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) works under a strict rule of confidentiality in its dealings with individuals and businesses, and I can neither confirm nor deny that any of its officials have had discussions with their EU counterparts on this matter.

Electronic Surveillance: Exports

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs is conducting an investigation into the unlicensed export of Finfisher intrusion software from a UK company to countries outside the EU.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) works under a strict rule of confidentiality in its dealings with individuals and businesses, and I can neither confirm nor deny that HMRC is conducting an investigation into this matter.

Energy: Prices

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to reduce the effects of decarbonisation policies on domestic fuel bills.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	The policies that we are putting in place to improve energy efficiency will, on average, more than offset the costs of policies supporting low carbon generation and energy efficiency investment—which currently comprise only around 9% of the average consumer's energy bill.
	The main driver behind energy bill rises is wholesale energy costs—between 2010 and 2012 they have caused at least 60% of the increase in household bills.
	We have recently published a detailed report on the impact of policies on energy prices and bills, which is accessible at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_-_Price_and_Bill_Impacts_Report_Final.pdf

Financial Services: Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of all legal challenges by the Government to plans to introduce a cap on bonuses paid to workers in the financial services sector.

David Gauke: holding answer 10 October 2013
	The Government launched a legal challenge to the bonus cap and related provisions in the EU capital requirements directive 4, and capital requirements regulation in September 2013. Costs are expected to be in line with the information presented in the House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee report (HC671) “Subsidiarity—monitoring by national parliaments: challenging a measure before the EU Court of Justice”, in September 2013.

Means-tested Benefits

Andy Sawford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the level of administration associated with means-tested benefits being claimed by those with variable hours earning from week to week.

Esther McVey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	DWP does not gather information in relation to this question. The process to do so is expensive and prone to error which is why we are progressively introducing universal credit. This makes use of the Real Time Information from HMRC which provides information on earnings.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether officials in his Department are monitoring the average prices of mortgages purchased under the Help to Buy scheme.

David Gauke: The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is available throughout the UK to potential home owners who can afford repayments on a high LTV mortgage, but are unable to save up for the large deposits currently required in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The Government has made £12 billion of guarantees available, which is sufficient to support £130 billion worth of mortgages across the UK.

Renewable Energy: Government Assistance

Brian Binley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value of annual (a) direct and (b) indirect subsidy supplied to support UK renewables is.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
	As the Government has explained in its written evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), there is no single definition of 'subsidy':
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmenvaud/writev/61/energy.pdf
	The amount of market support available to levy-funded policies supporting low-carbon electricity investment, which includes policies supporting UK renewables, has been set by the Government at up to £7.6 billion (real 2011-12 prices) in 2020. Non-levy funded support must be provided from within agreed departmental spending limits.

Tax Allowances: Older People

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce partial tax exemptions for those of retiring age who choose to carry on working.

Nicky Morgan: Individuals who choose to carry on working after retirement age currently benefit from an exemption from employee national insurance contributions. The Government therefore has no current, plans to introduce further exemptions for individuals in these circumstances.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to tackle tobacco smuggling in Northern Ireland.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling includes a wide range of complementary measures. In Northern Ireland, HMRC treats tobacco fraud as one of its top priorities and conducts proactive criminal investigations into organised criminal groups involved in tobacco smuggling. Working collaboratively with a range of partner agencies in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, HMRC gathers and responds to intelligence concerning tobacco smuggling in order to seize illicit tobacco and, where appropriate, arrest those involved. HMRC uses a range of criminal and civil powers to deny and recover the proceeds of crime, and seize vehicles used in the smuggling of tobacco.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Cannock Chase

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new properties have been made available (a) in the affordable rented sector and (b) via shared ownership in Cannock Chase constituency in each of the last 15 years; and how many such properties received direct Government support.

Kris Hopkins: Statistics on additional affordable housing delivery are not available by constituency but are available by local authority district. Additional intermediate housing (which includes shared ownership properties) provided in Cannock Chase local authority since 1991-92 can be found in live table 1007 at:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	Local figures on additional social rent dwellings can also be found at live table 1006.
	Affordable rent was introduced in 2011-12; Homes and Communities Agency statistics show that the first 27 affordable rented properties under this programme were completed in 2012-13 in the Cannock Chase local authority area.
	The Department's statistics include additional affordable housing delivered both with and without Government support. Figures for additional affordable housing delivered with Government support only are not available at a local authority district level.

Fire Services: Pay

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has issued guidance to (a) fire brigades and (b) fire authorities on the awarding of pay rises to senior officers since May 2010.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 10 October 2013
	Fire and rescue authorities are independent employers and, as such, are responsible for management of their own workforces. This includes decisions relating to the remuneration of senior staff. Ministers have been clear that, in making these local decisions, authorities should demonstrate restraint and ensure that senior pay and reward delivers value for money for local taxpayers.
	In addition, the Government has taken steps to increase transparency and accountability of local decisions on senior remuneration. Through the Code of Recommended Practice of on Local Authority Transparency, the Government has ensured that all authorities publish details of senior salaries. Measures introduced in the Localism Act 2011 require authorities to publish annual pay policy statements articulating their policies on a range of pay matters, including increases and additions to the remuneration of senior staff. Such statements must be agreed by full council or a meeting of members in the case of specific Fire and Rescue Authorities.
	In preparing their pay policy statements, authorities must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. Such guidance was published in February 2012 and February 2013, copies of which are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-local-councils-more-transparent-and-accountable-to-local-people/supporting-pages/publishing-details-of-local-council-pay-and-jobs
	In that guidance, the Secretary of State made clear that full council or a meeting of members should have an opportunity to vote on large salary packages and severance payments, particularly those of £100,000 or more.

Growing Places Fund

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the Growing Places Fund was allocated to each Local Enterprise Partnership area in each quarter from November 2011 to September 2013.

Kris Hopkins: The £730 million Growing Places Fund was allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships in February and March 2012. The amount received by each Local Enterprise Partnership is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Local Enterprise Partnership Total Awarded (£) 
			 Black Country 14,488,451 
			 Buckinghamshire 6,276,294 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 13,159,667 
			 Coast to Capital 23,699,125 
			 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 6,365,681 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 12,816,184 
			 Cumbria 6,667,772 
			 Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire 26,344,104 
			 Dorset 9,639,201 
			 Enterprise M3 21,744,341 
			 Gloucestershire 8,498,295 
			 Greater Birmingham and Solihull 22,494,722 
			 Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough 16,118,213 
			 Greater Manchester 37,358,032 
			 Heart of the SW 21,488,660 
		
	
	
		
			 Hertfordshire 16,236,239 
			 Humber 8,762,240 
			 Lancashire 19,378,944 
			 Leeds City Region 36,225,183 
			 Leicester and Leicestershire 13,405,370 
			 Lincolnshire 9,801,076 
			 Liverpool City Region 19,529,710 
			 New Anglia 18,200,892 
			 North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership 25,253,169 
			 Northamptonshire 5,910,558 
			 Oxfordshire 9,054,428 
			 Pan London 110,761,262 
			 Sheffield City Region 18,574,935 
			 Solent 18,110,320 
			 South East 49,210,053 
			 South East Midlands 18,759,514 
			 Stoke and Staffordshire 11,462,668 
			 Swindon and Wiltshire 9,386,900 
			 Tees Valley 8,587,013 
			 Thames Valley Berkshire 16,039,518 
			 The Marches Enterprise Partnership 8,190,847 
			 West of England 17,107,499 
			 Worcestershire 5,518,972 
			 York, North Yorkshire and East Riding 9,373,951 
			 England 730,000,004

Homelessness: Cornwall

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding has been allocated to Cornwall council to tackle homelessness since May 2010.

Kris Hopkins: Cornwall county unitary authority has been allocated Homeless Prevention Grant in each of the following years funding to tackle homelessness:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 516,050 
			 2011-12 792,470 
			 2012-13 792,470 
			 2013-14 751,207 
		
	
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) on 17 June 2013, Official Report, column 506W. A spreadsheet was placed in the Library of the House which shows the amount allocated to each English local authority in Homelessness Prevention Grant or its predecessor in each of the last five years, and also in 2013-14.
	We also provided £165,601 in 2011-12 to help Cornwall prevent repossessions. The Homelessness Prevention Grant totals provided are the baseline figures and exclude funding that has previously been rolled into the grant to cover under occupancy and tenancy fraud.
	From 2013-14 the Homelessness Prevention Grant has been rolled into the Business Rate Retention scheme.

Land Drainage

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to encourage householders to offset the effect of additional surface water run-off and promote the use of (a) water butts, (b) green roofs and (c) porous materials for hard surfacing.

Dan Rogerson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can use rainwater harvesting, green roofs and porous materials, alongside other methods, to mimic natural drainage.
	DEFRA is implementing schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act which contains requirements for SuDS in new and redeveloped sites in England. Building regulations require infiltration to be used except when impracticable, and allow the use of rainwater harvesting.
	Householders do not need planning permission to pave-over their front gardens with porous materials. Those who wish to put down an impermeable surface of more than five square metres must obtain specific planning permission.
	Some water companies offer free water butts to individuals and groups who wish to harvest rainwater. This contributes to meeting water efficiency targets set by Ofwat.

Private Rented Housing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people lived in private rental accommodation in England in September (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Kris Hopkins: The Department publishes estimates each year on the number of households in the private rented sector in England, through its annual English Housing Survey. The latest report shows 3.8 million households in the private rented sector in England for 2011-12 compared to 3.6 million in 2010-11. The Department does not produce annual estimates for Wales.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the 2011 Census for the number of households in the private rented sector in England and Wales, which are available online in table KS402EW at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html
	Census 2011 estimates for the number of households in the private rented sector are 3.72 million households in England, and 0.18 million households in Wales, as at 27 March 2011.

Procurement

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 15 October 2012, Official Report, columns 24-6W, on procurement, what expenditure on procurement his Department has contracted to (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses in each month since August 2012.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 5 September 2013
	Despite the ongoing savings we are delivering to our Department's administration costs, the DCLG Group's overall spend with small and medium sized enterprises for the first four months of 2013-14 has increased from £19 million to £19.3 million compared to the same period last year.
	While precise figures will fluctuate from month to month, over 25% of our group spending is now with small and medium suppliers, compared with the starting point of 12% in 2010 (based on DCLG central spend). This meets the Cabinet Office's aspiration, for Government Departments to spend 25% with small and medium sized enterprises by the end of this Parliament. We are currently the third highest performing Department within Whitehall.
	The following table sets out the detailed expenditure on small, medium and large organisations from September 2012 for my Department and its arm’s length bodies:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Central Department Arm’s length bodies Total group expenditure 
			  Small Medium Large Small and medium Large Small and medium 
			 Financial year 2012-13       
			 2012       
			 September 1.1 0.8 12.2 4.3 4.5 6.2 
			 October 03 0.5 4.1 4.7 4.1 5.5 
			 November 0.3 0.4 9.2 5.8 5.2 6.5 
			 December 0.6 0.5 13.2 4.1 5.5 5.2 
			 2013       
			 January 0.2 0.4 8.6 5.2 6.8 5.8 
			 February 0.2 0.3 6.5 5.0 7,3 5.5 
			 March 0.4 0.4 21,6 7.5 14.9 8.3 
			        
			 Financial year 2013-14       
			 2013       
			 April 0.2 0.5 7.2 4.5 8.2 5.2 
			 May 0.1 0.6 4.9 4.5 5.0 5.2 
			 June 0.0 0.5 17.4 4.3 4.3 4.8 
			 July 0.2 0.3 12.2 3.6 3.8 4.1

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 250W, on social security benefits: EU nationals, whether local authorities are obliged to grant access to the new council tax reduction scheme to EU nationals residing in the UK as jobseekers.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 13 September 2013
	Local authorities in England are not obliged to grant access to a council tax reduction scheme to jobseekers from the European economic area residing in the UK.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Aerospace Industry

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to enable each region of the UK to export aeronautical expertise and products to developing markets overseas.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) supports companies with a range of services, including missions and trade fairs which are available to companies throughout the UK, including the devolved Administrations. Working with trade associations in the sector these missions and trade fairs are strategically planned to match identified opportunities.
	Support in the form of grants and promotional activities is available to small and medium-sized enterprises who wish to promote their products or services at aerospace exhibitions overseas through UKTI's Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP).

Employment Tribunals Service

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the effect of vexatious employment tribunal claims on the employment intentions of small businesses.

Jo Swinson: The Government has made a number of changes recently to the employment tribunal system to address weak or vexatious claims and their effect on all businesses, including smaller companies. Following Lord Justice Underhill's review of the employment tribunal rules of procedure, judges now have enhanced powers to apply deposit orders on weak elements of claims. An initial sift process, conducted by judges, has also been introduced to help identify and manage weak claims earlier in proceedings. In addition, claimants now have to pay a fee to bring an employment tribunal case. Fees will help claimants consider whether alternative forms of dispute resolution, such as the free conciliation service provided by ACAS, would be more appropriate for resolving their workplace disputes. From next year, claimants will be required to contact ACAS in the first instance and consider early conciliation before being able to proceed to an employment tribunal.
	The changes to the employment tribunal process were implemented on 29 July this year. Early conciliation will be introduced on 6 April 2014. Government will assess the effect of these changes on the intentions of all parties, including small businesses, before considering any further action.

Exports: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprise exporters in London contributed to the Trade Growth Value metric through reporting receiving significant assistance from UK Trade and Investment during (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last two years.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 13 September 2013, Official Report, columns 873-4W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois).

Foreign Investment in UK

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much inward foreign direct investment UK Trade and Investment and its private sector partners have secured so far this year.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) on 13 September 2013, Official Report, column 872W.

Foreign Investment in UK: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  with which foreign companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and governments UK Trade and Investment worked to secure inward investment into London during (a) 2011 and (b) 2012;
	(2)  which foreign companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and/or governments UK Trade and Investment and their private sector partners are currently working with to secure inward investment into London.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 270W, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois).

Foreign Investment in UK: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the return is on investment that taxpayers in London are getting from UK Trade and Investment's private sector partners through the inward investment they attract into London;
	(2)  how much inward foreign direct investment did UK Trade and Investment and its private sector partners attracted into London during (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last two years.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) on 13 September 2013, Official Report, column 873W.

Foreign Investment in UK: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the return is on investment taxpayers in London are getting from the London UK Trade and Investment office through inward investment and exports.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) on 13 September 2013, Official Report, columns 872-73W.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members are on the board of each local enterprise partnership; how many such members are women; and how many such members are of Black or minority ethnic origin.

Michael Fallon: This information is not collected. Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have been established as voluntary partnerships of local business and public sector leaders and board membership is a matter for LEPs themselves.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the annual spend of local enterprise partnerships (LEP) was in each (a) LEP and (b) region in each year since the formation of LEPs.

Michael Fallon: The Government do not hold information on the annual spend of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). LEPs are responsible for a number of local economic development programmes that are funded by Government, and which are individually monitored by the relevant Government Department.

Music: Licensing

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if she will establish a music licensing and collections agency for the devolved regions.

Jo Swinson: Collecting societies in the UK are privately-controlled entities, usually set up by rightsholders and owned and controlled by them. It is a matter for the rightsholders concerned to decide whether to set up any new societies.

Postal Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what safeguards exist to protect the Royal Mail's six-day-per-week delivery service.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to securing the future of the universal postal service provided by Royal Mail, which is so important to local communities, our wider society and the UK economy.
	The Postal Services Act 2011 (PSA) sets down the minimum requirements of the universal postal service in law. These minimum requirements include the collection of letters every Monday to Saturday and deliveries to all addresses in the United Kingdom at uniform and affordable prices. Any change to these minimum requirements would require the approval of both Houses of Parliament.
	Under the PSA, Ofcom, as the independent regulator for postal services, has the primary duty to secure the provision of the universal postal service in the UK. The Act provides Ofcom with the power to intervene if the provision of the universal service is at risk and regulatory tools to ensure that the service is maintained throughout the country.
	Regardless of ownership, Royal Mail, as the UK's designated universal service provider, will continue to be required to provide letter deliveries to all UK addresses six days a week in accordance with the statutory obligation and Standards set by Ofcom.

Royal Mail

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish a list of the new shareholders of Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: Royal Mail shareholders will be entered onto Royal Mail's register of members. This register belongs to the company and it is for the company to maintain.
	The Government is not able to disclose it. However, we sought to ensure that the allocation favoured long-term investors during the sale process.

Royal Mail

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people were unsuccessful in their application for shares in Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: The retail element of the Royal Mail Share Offer was seven times subscribed. 690,000 people received shares; around 40,000 retail applicants—approximately 5%--did not receive any allocation of shares.

Royal Mail

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department is doing with the deposits paid by people who made an unsuccessful application for shares in Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: The policy on the refund of application monies was set out in the Terms and Conditions of the Direct Retail Offer, included in the Prospectus and provided with the Summary Prospectus. Cheques will be posted or bank refund instructions will be made no later than 21 October 2013.

Students

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of students in UK universities were born in (a) the UK, (b) the EU, (c) the Commonwealth, (d) the USA and (d) China.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on enrolments at UK higher education institutions (HEIs).
	Information on students' country of birth is not held centrally. However, data on student nationality is available and has been provided as an alternative. Where a student has dual nationality including British, they appear as a British national. If they hold dual nationality, not including British, but including a non-British EU country, then they appear as an EU national. Data is not collected on the nationality of students at Northern Irish HEIs.
	Information on the proportion of students by nationality at English, Scottish and Welsh HEIs in the academic year 2011/12 has been provided in the following table.
	
		
			 Enrolments(1) by nationality(2). English, Welsh and Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs). Academic year 2011/12 
			 Nationality Enrolments Percentage 
			 UK(3) 1,867,410 76.4 
			 EU (includes UK) 2,064,320 84.4 
			 Commonwealth (includes UK)(4) 2,031,760 83.1 
			 USA 18,120 0.7 
			 China 85,020 3.5 
			 Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China) 4,400 0.2 
			 Macao (Special Administrative Region of China) 90 — 
			 Taiwan (Province of China) 4,495 0.2 
			 All nationalities 2,444,735 100.0 
			 (1 )Enrolments refers to students in all years of study (2) Where a student has dual nationality including British, they appear as a British national. If they hold a dual nationality, not including British, but including a non-British EU country, then they appear as the EU national. (3) British nationality including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and nationality unknown. (4) Classified as the sum of the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth http://thecommonwealth.org/member-countries Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Students

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the percentage of undergraduates aged under 25 in (a) England, (b) the UK, (c) US, (d) Canada, (e) Australia, (f) France, (g) Germany and (h) Japan.

David Willetts: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 October 2013, Official Report, column 366W.

Telephones: Fraud

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to tackle the effects of dial through telephone fraud on UK businesses; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 14 October 2013
	I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	Small and medium sized businesses often use 'Private Branch Exchanges' for internal and external communications. These systems are targeted by criminals who exploit the technology by committing what is known as 'dial-through fraud', where the exchange is hacked into allowing calls to be routed through the system to high rate international/premium rate numbers.
	Fraud of this type can be exacerbated by ineffective access security measures that protect against unauthorised access. If companies suspect that they are vulnerable, they should take the appropriate steps to make their systems as secure as possible. Advice on protection from dial-through fraud is available from the getsafeonline website.
	If companies have experienced dial-through fraud they should report the matter to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre, telephone 0300 123 2040, website:
	www.actionfraud.police.uk
	Reports to Action Fraud are reviewed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). If, on the basis of the information reported, enforcement is assessed as being viable the NFIB will present a comprehensive case to the most appropriate police force or organisation to investigate.

UK Trade and Investment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the depth and range of data collected on regional UK Trade and Investment offices.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 8 October 2013, Official Report, columns 284-5W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski).

UK Trade and Investment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the impact of regional UK Trade and Investment offices is accurately measured and monitored.

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 284W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski).

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Rossendale

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 201W, Broadband: Rossendale, how many premises in Rossendale and Darwen constituency are included in the 1800 premises passed to date; and what proportion of the premises in Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen are in Rossendale and Darwen constituency.

Edward Vaizey: The Department does not have premises level information, or at the level of constituency for premises passed at this time. The local project team in Lancashire would be the best source for information at that level.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on disclosure by local authorities of the postcodes that will benefit from the Rural Community Broadband Fund as led by Broadband Delivery UK.

Edward Vaizey: It is a matter for local authorities and BT to publish their roll out plans under the Rural Broadband Programme and I wrote to the local authorities in July encouraging them to publish information on the expected coverage from their projects.

Internet

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will review the regulation of the process for domain names registration in the light of the dominant position held by Nominet.

Edward Vaizey: Nominet is a private not-for-profit business with a public purpose agenda, and any surplus generated by the company is donated to the Nominet Trust. While Nominet is responsible for the domain name registration process in the .uk space, UK internet users are able to choose from over 20 alternative Top Level Domain names including com, .net, .eu, and .org, as well as .uk and over 250 other country codes. Additionally, users will soon be able to choose from over 1,400 generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) names as a result of ICANN's gTLD programme. This provides a highly competitive market, offering businesses, and individuals, choice.

DEFENCE

Air Force

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what involvement RAF Careers had with the making of the Channel 5 documentary series Billion Dollar Wreck Hunt; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: RAF Careers had no involvement in the making of the Billion Dollar Wreck Hunt. RAF Careers sponsored the series as part of a larger sponsorship package on Channel 5, which includes a number of adventure-related programmes. This is a nine month agreement, due to complete in April 2014.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to paragraph 3.6 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and US regarding the assignment of UK military personnel to the 432nd Wing, what other written agreements are in place to permit and facilitate UK personnel activities in the territory of a third party; and if he will place copies of any such agreements in the Library. [R]

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) utilises a number of written documents to support the deployment of personnel to third party countries. These can be legally binding agreements or treaties, which are bilateral or multilateral documents signed between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (on the MOD's behalf) and a foreign counterpart. Legally binding agreements relating to MOD activity can be found at the FCO treaty website at:
	http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/treaties/treaty.htm
	on GOV.uk, the National Archives or in the Library of the House. There are also non-legally binding, although politically and morally binding, arrangements which take various forms, including: memoranda of understanding (MOU), Defence Co-operation Arrangements (DCA) and Letters of Intent (LoI).
	A significant number of legally and non-legally binding arrangements are in place with bilateral partners which permit and facilitate UK personnel activity in the territory of a third party. MOUs are drafted and negotiated by many areas of the Department depending on the subject matter they are dealing with.
	These cover all aspects of international defence co-operation, such as detailing the general arrangements for organising, deploying or hosting international training and exercises; the exchange of personnel and units; equipment and research collaboration; and the protection of classified information.
	The UK has signed MOUs with over 100 countries on all aspects of international defence co-operation over the last 60 years. However, as comprehensive records of MOUs have never been held centrally by the Department, and it is estimated that there are over 3,000 extant MOUs, copies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where each Army unit that has been withdrawn from Germany is being re-based.

Andrew Murrison: Details of the Army units that have been withdrawn from Germany and their location in the UK are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit Location 
			 43 Close Support Squadron The Royal Logistic Corps Dalton Barracks, Abingdon 
			 7 Theatre Logistic Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore 
			 Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Imjin Barracks, Gloucester 
		
	
	Details of the Army units that have been withdrawn from Germany but not to the UK are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit Location 
			 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Cyprus 
			 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment Cyprus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the recent decision by the Dutch Supreme Court to hold the Dutch government to account for the actions of its peacekeepers at Srebrenica, what assessment he has made of the implications of that decision for the deployment of members of HM Forces in support of UN missions.

Mark Francois: My right hon. Friend is right to note the potential significance of this judgment, which we are studying carefully.

Defence: Procurement

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any overlaps in procurement are kept to a minimum thus ensuring a joined-up approach to defence procurement.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has in place a range of policies and processes to ensure that all defence expenditure is managed in a joined-up manner.
	As part of the Levene Reforms we have established the Financial and Military Capability Organisation within the Head Office which acts as the capability coherence authority for the Department. It discharges this function by examining the plans generated by the front line commands, to ensure the combination of all submitted plans is coherent and aligned, and above all affordable through Strategic Balance of Investment. This includes identifying potential overlaps in those plans.
	For the procurement of goods and services, the Department has been working with the Government Procurement Service to transition appropriate common goods and services to centralised procurement, creating opportunities for savings through rationalisation and economies of scale. Last year £1.7 billion of MOD expenditure was managed in this way.

Devonport Dockyard

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to secure the release of South Yard, HM Dockyard Devonport to the Homes and Community Agency; and by when such a transfer will take place.

Andrew Murrison: Ministry of Defence officials are working with the Cabinet Office and Plymouth city council on the release of South Yard. It is too early to say when a transfer will take place.

Iraq

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the health problems in Iraq arising from the use of uranium-depleted munitions and the nerve agent Sarin during the first and second Gulf wars; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle such health issues in an effective and appropriate way.

Mark Francois: On the use of depleted uranium ammunition, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 14W, and on 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 964W, and 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 78W, to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert),
	On the nerve agent Sarin, I am not aware of any evidence that it was used in the first or second Gulf war.

Lost Property

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to tackle lost property in his Department and the armed forces.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has an ongoing security improvement programme which through education, awareness and training seeks to improve our performance in this area by drawing on existing policy and guidance, our knowledge of the evolving threat faced by Defence and evidence derived from incidents involving the loss or theft of Defence assets.
	Despite these efforts, in both the public and private sector, losses or thefts of equipment will still occur. To reduce the security impact, the MOD has a number of measures in place to minimise the risk of compromise of information.
	Examples of these include encrypting most laptops and removable media to ensure the data they contain are extremely difficult to access; and a corporate telephony service (Blackberry Enterprise Service) that requires all devices to be password protected and which have the ability to be remotely wiped and isolated from the system.

Mali

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has plans to provide training on drones to African-led International Support Mission to Mali. [R]

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to provide training on Unmanned Aircraft System to the African-led International Support Mission to Mali.

Marchwood Military Port

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the additional capacity of the port of Southampton to improve the resilience, capacity and capability of the army's sea mounting operations following the sale of Marchwood.

Philip Dunne: In developing the business case for the proposed sale of Marchwood, consideration is being given to the advantages that access to the additional capacity of other ports, including Southampton, might bring in improving the resilience of the Ministry of Defence's sea mounting operations. It is envisaged, as part of any tender process, that bidders will have the opportunity to address this in their responses.

Nuclear Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions power to a nuclear submarine's reactor cooling systems has failed when in port in each submarine base in the last 20 years.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 14 October 2013
	Nuclear submarines have a diverse range of reactor cooling systems, including a dedicated system that is not dependent on electrical supplies.
	There have been four events in the last 20 years involving the loss of electrical power to a nuclear submarine's reactor cooling systems when in port: two while at Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, one at HMNB Devonport and one at Rosyth Dockyard.
	In all four events there was no disruption to reactor cooling owing to the loss of electrical supplies.

Nuclear Submarines

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to increase safety on nuclear submarines.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) applies a process of continuous improvement across all elements of the submarine programme, consistent with best practice in safety management and the requirements of regulators. This takes close account of lessons learned from incidents in the civil nuclear industry and in other areas of Defence.
	In seeking safety improvements, the MOD works closely with industry, recognising the critical role of the UK's nuclear submarine supply chain in delivering safe submarines.
	Submarine safety is also being driven forward through an initiative known as NavySafe. A key element of this is improving the reporting of safety events, to allow lessons to be drawn more effectively from past experience.
	Engineering improvements are continually being incorporated into in-service submarines, with major refits providing a valuable opportunity to incorporate improvements to key submarine systems.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 38W, on unmanned aerial vehicles, if his Department will develop trauma risk management strategies specifically tailored for drone operators. [R]

Mark Francois: I have nothing further to add to my predecessor's answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 38W, however, the Ministry of Defence continues to monitor its trauma risk management strategies for pilots and will develop a specific strategy for RAF Reaper operators should the need arise.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

House of Lords

Michael McCann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that the House of Lords be reduced in number.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on House of Lords reform.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government remains committed to an elected House of Lords with a reduced number of members.
	However, in the absence of wider reform there are some straightforward and common-sense changes that could help to manage the ever increasing size of the House of Lords and the Government is willing to consider how such changes could be achieved.

Local Growth Committee

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times the Local Growth Cabinet Committee has met in the last 12 months.

Nicholas Clegg: We do not comment on the frequency of Cabinet Committee meetings.

Urban Areas

Gary Streeter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities have taken part in City Deals to date; and what freedoms and funding have been given as part of each such City Deal.

Greg Clark: The Government concluded City Deals with the eight largest cities in England outside London in July 2012. These deals offered a range of funding and flexibilities to the various City Regions, including: greater control over the skills and apprenticeship system locally; joint work with Government to maximise the value of public sector land assets; greater control over long term transport funding; powers and flexible funding to create single investment funds; powers to share the proceeds of future economic growth with Government; support to help business grow and to attract inward investment; and a more flexible approach to planning locally. Each City Deal was bespoke, and was negotiated according to the needs of each city.
	The local authorities involved in Wave 1 City Deals were:
	Birmingham
	Birmingham City Council
	Solihull Council
	Bristol
	Bristol City Council North Somerset Council
	South Gloucestershire Council
	Bath and North East Somerset Council
	Leeds City Region
	Leeds Council
	Bradford Council
	Wakefield Council
	Calderdale Council
	Kirklees Council
	Craven Council
	Selby Council
	Harrogate Council
	York Council
	Liverpool City Region
	Liverpool Council
	Halton Council
	Knowsley Council
	Sefton Council
	St Helens Council
	Wirral Council
	Greater Manchester
	Manchester Council
	Salford Council
	Trafford Council
	Tameside Council
	Stockport Council
	Bury Council
	Oldham Council
	Rochdale Council
	Wigan Council
	Bolton Council
	Newcastle
	Newcastle Council
	Gateshead Council
	Northumberland Council
	Sunderland Council
	Durham Council
	North Tyneside Council
	South Tyneside Council
	Nottingham
	Nottingham City Council
	Nottinghamshire County Council
	Sheffield City Region
	Sheffield Council
	Rotherham Council
	Barnsley Council
	Doncaster Council
	Chesterfield Council
	North East Derbyshire Council
	Bolsover Council
	Bassetlaw Council
	Derbyshire Dales Council
	A full list of the commitments agreed in the Wave 1 City Deals can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/city-deals-wave-1
	In addition, the Government is currently negotiating Wave 2 City Deals with a further 20 cities in England. These are the next 14 largest cities by population, as well as the six cities with the fastest growing populations. The Preston City Deal, which involved Preston City Council, South Ribble District Council and Lancashire County Council, was signed in September 2013, while the remaining 19 City Deals are currently being negotiated by Government.

EDUCATION

Academies

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce bureaucracy on (a) new and (b) established academies; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Government is committed to reducing bureaucracy for all schools so that they are able to concentrate on raising standards.
	All academies benefit from a range of freedoms and flexibilities that give them more power to make their own decisions in a range of areas, including the budget, curriculum, staffing, teachers' pay and conditions and the length of terms.
	We are continuing to reduce bureaucracy for academies by improving our model funding agreements for new academies and enabling established academies to switch to a new agreement if they wish to do so.

Academies

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the annual budget of the Academies Show Team is.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency have supported the Academies Show since it started in May 2012. The Academies Show is organised by Partnership Media Group and has a number of commercial sponsors.
	Neither the Department for Education nor the Education Funding Agency has a budget for the Academies Show; suppliers pay to exhibit at the show which is free to delegates.

Free Schools: Teachers

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers in free schools have had Criminal Records Bureau checks on their suitability to work with children.

Edward Timpson: All teachers and other staff members in free schools must be checked using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly Criminal Records Bureau). This requirement is contained in the school funding agreement.

Free Schools: Teachers

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers work in free schools; and what their (a) age and (b) qualifications are.

Edward Timpson: In November 2012, the annual School Workforce Census(1) showed that a total of 682 full-time equivalent teachers, (a headcount of 736) were employed in 64 Free Schools.
	(1)Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012
	The average age of the teachers working in Free Schools was 38. This compares with an average age of 40 for teachers in all publicly funded schools in England.
	Data on each qualification held by each teacher is not collected.

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children of Pakistani ethnicity achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including mathematics and English, in schools in (a) London and (b) England, excluding London.

David Laws: The following table provides information as requested for the percentage of Pakistani pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs(1) for pupils(2,)( )(3) in London and England (excluding London) in 2011/12(4). Coverage is for all state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) in England.
	
		
			  Pakistani All Pupils(5) 
			  Number of eligible pupils(2) Percentage achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs Number of eligible pupils(2) Percentage achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 
			 London 2,934 65.5 74,534 62.4 
			 England (excluding London) 13,956 52.5 484,542 58.5 
			 (1) From 2009/10 IGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English & mathematics GCSEs. (2) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in the academic year. (3) The figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (4) Figures for 2011/12 are based on final data. (5) Includes pupils of any other ethnic group, also those pupils for whom ethnicity was not obtained, refused, or could not be determined. Source: National Pupil Database

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of 15 year old pupils were classified as disadvantaged in (a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Westminster (c) Barking and Dagenham, (d) Wokingham, (e) Buckinghamshire, (f) Hampshire, (g) West Berkshire, (h) Kingston-upon-Thames and (i) Trafford in 2012; and what percentage points attainment gap existed between such pupils and those not classified as disadvantaged in pass rates of five or more GCSEs at grade C or above including mathematics and English.

David Laws: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number and proportion of eligible pupils(1) and percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs(2) at grade A* to C or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs by disadvantaged pupils(3) for the local authorities (LAs) requested. Years: 2011/12(4). Coverage: England, state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			   Disadvantaged pupils Non-disadvantaged pupils 
			 LA code LA name No. of eligible pupiils(1) Proportion of eligible pupils(1) % achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs No. of eligible pupiils(1) Proportion of eligible pupils(1) % achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 
			 E09000030 Tower Hamlets 1,350 55.2 59.3 1,094 44.8 65.1 
			 E09000033 Westminster 503 36.3 65.2 882 63.7 72.7 
			 E09000002 Barking and Dagenham 562 26.7 49.1 1,539 73.3 62.1 
			 E06000041 Wokingham 87 5.3 26.4 1,551 94.7 67.9 
			 E10000002 Buckinghamshire 340 6.2 29.4 5,156 93.8 72.4 
			 E10000014 Hampshire 1,118 8.1 25.4 12,711 91.9 61.4 
			 E06000037 West Berkshire 124 6.5 20.2 1,779 93.5 59.8 
			 E09000021 Kingston upon Thames 113 7.4 42.5 1,413 92.6 72.3 
			 E08000009 Trafford 350 12.0 43.7 2,562 88.0 76.3 
			         
			 E92000001 England(6) 83,247 14.9 35.8 475,829 85.1 63.1 
		
	
	
		
			   All pupils  
			 LA code LA name No. of eligible pupiils(1) % achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs Attainment gap (non-disadvantaged pupils minus disadvantaged pupils)(5) 
			 E09000030 Tower Hamlets 2,444 61.9 5.8 
			 E09000033 Westminster 1,385 70.0 7.5 
			 E09000002 Barking and Dagenham 2,101 58.6 13.0 
			 E06000041 Wokingham 1,638 65.7 41.5 
			 E10000002 Buckinghamshire 5,496 69.7 43.0 
			 E10000014 Hampshire 13,829 58.5 36.0 
			 E06000037 West Berkshire 1,903 57.2 39.6 
			 E09000021 Kingston upon Thames 1,526 70.1 29.8 
			 E08000009 Trafford 2,912 72.4 32.6 
			      
			 E92000001 England(6) 559,076 59.1 27.3 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the academic year. (2) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (3) Includes pupils known to be eligible for FSM in any spring autumn, summer, alternative provision or pupil referral unit census from year six to year 11 or are looked after children. (4) Figures are based on final data. (5) Attainment gaps are calculated on unrounded figures. (6) The England and local authority figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. Source: National Pupil Database

Pupils: Languages

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils in (a) Year R, (b) Year 6 and (c) Year 11 had English as an additional language in (i) London and (ii) areas outside London in the last period for which figures are available.

David Laws: Information on the number of pupils in year 6 and year 11 by first language for regions in England is shown in the following table. Information for reception pupils is not available as first language is only collected for pupils of compulsory school age and above.
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools and pupil referral units(1, 2, 3, 4). Number and percentage of pupils by first language and national curriculum year group(5). January 2013. By region in England 
			  National curriculum year group 
			  Year group 6 Year group 11 
			 Region First language is known or believed to be other than English Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English(6) First language is known or believed to be English Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English(6) Total(7) First language is known or believed to be other than English Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English(6) First language is known or believed to be English Percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be English(6) Total(7) 
			 England 93,225 17.4 441,365 82.5 535,265 73,230 12.7 504,080 87.1 578,590 
			            
			 North East 1,500 5.8 24,135 94.1 25,650 1,075 3.7 27,990 96.2 29,095 
			 North West 9,385 12.8 64,140 87.2 73,580 7,185 8.8 74,255 91.0 81,570 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8,705 15.8 46,385 84.1 55,140 5,805 9.8 53,200 90.0 59,080 
			 East Midlands 5,270 11.4 40,715 88.4 46,040 4,565 9.0 46,330 90.9 50,980 
			 West Midlands 11,785 19.6 48,195 80.2 60,080 9,200 14.1 56,030 85.7 65,360 
			 East of England 6,660 11.2 52,955 88.7 59,705 5,185 7.9 60,450 91.8 65,845 
			 London 38,205 47.5 42,105 52.3 80,510 30,510 38.7 48,105 61.0 78,865 
			 Inner London 16,255 57.2 12,065 42.5 28,415 12,915 50.5 12,545 49.0 25,585 
			 Outer London 21,950 42.1 30,040 57.7 52,095 17,600 33.0 35,560 66.7 53,300 
			 South East 9,075 10.8 75,175 89.2 84,315 7,515 8.3 82,980 91.4 90,800 
			 South West 2,635 5.2 47,560 94.7 50,240 2,185 3.8 54,745 96.1 56,970 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. (4) Includes maintained special schools, special academies and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Pupils of compulsory school age and above in year 6 and year 11 were classified by first language. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (7) Including pupils whose first language was not sought or refused or pending classification. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5, totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts. Source: School Census.

School Meals

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of secondary school pupils are entitled to school meals in (a) Greater London, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Birmingham and the West Midlands.

David Laws: The number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in state-funded secondary schools in England, Greater London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands is shown in the following table. This information can also be found in table 8b of the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2013’ Statistical First Release
	(1)
	.
	(1)( )https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
	
		
			 State-funded secondary schools(1,2): Number of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals(3), January 2013—England, Greater Manchester, West Midlands and London 
			  Pupils eligible for free school meals(4) 
			  Number on roll Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 2,779,190 452,600 16.3 
			     
			 Greater Manchester(5) 145,960 30,520 20.9 
			     
			 West Midlands(6) 312,340 57.335 18.4 
			     
			 London 387,065 97,380 25.2 
			 Inner London 126,385 47,035 37.2 
			 Outer London 260,680 50,345 19.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. (3) Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarders. (4) Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15. (5) Greater Manchester figures include data from Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan local authorities. (6) Includes Birmingham local authority. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest five, therefore totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts. Source: School Census

Teachers

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average (a) age of and (b) full-time equivalent salary paid to (i) classroom teachers and (ii) head teachers in (A) inner London, (B) outer London and (C) England excluding London is.

David Laws: The following table provides information on the average age and full-time equivalent average salary paid to publicly funded classroom and head teachers in inner London, outer London and England excluding London in November 2012, which is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Inner London Outer London England excluding London 
			  Heads Classroom Heads Classroom Heads Classroom 
			 Average age 50 37 51 38 49 39 
			 Average salary (£)(1,2) 80,100 38,900 76,700 37,100 62,300 33,900 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest £100. (2). The full-time equivalent salary for part-time teachers is the full-time salary rate upon which their part-time salary is based. Source: School Workforce Census available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012 
		
	
	Published figures show little change in the average salary of teachers and headteachers between November 2010 and 2012.

Teachers: Equality

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason gender identity was included in the February draft of the National Curriculum Framework document as a characteristic obligating teachers in their duties under equal opportunities legislation, but was not included in the July draft of that document.

Elizabeth Truss: The inclusion statement in the draft national curriculum framework document that was published for consultation in July did not include the phrase 'gender identity' due to a drafting error. The text was corrected before the final version of the national curriculum framework document was published on 11 September. The inclusion section now states that teachers should take account of their duties under equal opportunities legislation that covers race, disability, sex, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment. The new national curriculum will be taught in maintained schools from September 2014.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of (a) teachers and (b) officials in his Department who work with children have received training on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to ensure adequate and systematic training of (a) teachers and (b) officials in his Department who work with children on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold information about the proportion of teachers who have received training on the UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC). Teachers who work in schools that have been accredited under the Rights Respecting Schools Award run by UNICEF or who are responsible for citizenship or Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons can also access the many online materials that are available to improve their understanding of the UNCRC.
	The Department has taken a number of steps to raise awareness of the UNCRC among its officials, including several detailed training sessions for those involved in developing new policy or legislation. We do not keep a record of the proportion of staff involved in this ongoing work.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Coal: Concessions

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department will adopt the Concessionary Fuel beneficiaries liability; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: A range of concessionary fuel entitlements currently exist. DECC is responsible for the National Concessionary Fuel Scheme (NCFS) for the former employees of the British Coal Corporation (BCC) at the time of privatisation. This Scheme is completely separate from the arrangements operated by private coal mining companies that inherited obligations at privatisation or set up their own arrangements. DECC has no legal obligations in relation to these company specific arrangements.
	DECC's obligations under the NCFS are governed by collective agreements established between BCC and the mining unions in the 1980s. Following the privatisation of BCC in 1994, Government assumed liability for the provision of concessionary fuel (or cash in lieu) to former employees of BCC (and their widows) who met the necessary criteria under these arrangements. DECC currently services over 69,000 beneficiaries. It is envisaged that the arrangements will last until 2050, with an estimated remaining cost to the tax payer of some £450 million.

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of flooding on the environmental safety of fracking; and what assessment he has made of the relevance for hydraulic fracturing to exploit shale gas in the UK of the serious flooding of fracking sites in Colorado in September 2013.

Michael Fallon: Any development that is planned near a main river or a flood defence will require flood defence consent from the Environment Agency. It is a statutory consultee in the planning process and can object to any development that it considers to be at high risk of flooding. Similar processes apply in other parts of the UK.
	The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has found no evidence of pollutants from oil and gas spills in rivers and streams affected by the flooding. The Environment Agency has made no assessment of the relevance of flooding of shale gas sites in Colorado in September 2013.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much of the £200 million of Government funding allocated to the Green Deal in November 2011 has been spent to date.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 14 October 2013
	While announced in November 2011, the bulk of the £200 million was budgeted for spend in 2013-14 rather than 2012-13. As of the end of September, £31.4 million had been spent and we have already announced that at least another £20 million will be directed to the Green Deal Communities scheme. I expect the total to be significantly above £51.4 million by the end of March 2014, but I am also focused on ensuring that we deliver value for money in the way we incentivise consumers to act under the Green Deal and the energy company obligation (ECO).
	So far, over 71,000 Green Deal assessments have taken place, with surveys demonstrating that more than 80% of the households have been spurred into action, and nearly 195,000 energy efficiency measures have been installed in homes under ECO. We are also building value by channelling funds through local authorities and communities to demonstrate what can be achieved on a street-by-street basis. We have consulted on adjustments to the cashback scheme and plan to implement changes shortly, in order to provide a substantial extra boost to delivery.

Sellafield

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), (ii) Sellafield Ltd and (iii) Nuclear Management Partners on liability indemnification for the extension of the top tier management contract for Sellafield announced by NDA on 4 October.

Michael Fallon: No discussions have taken place regarding this issue, as the existing contractual arrangements are still applicable.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what inspection and enforcement measures his Department has put in place to ensure that wind farm developers abide by development regulations.

Michael Fallon: Development consent requirements for onshore wind farms are generally the responsibility of the local planning authority to discharge, monitor and enforce. In exceptional cases, the Secretary of State may be responsible for discharging certain conditions, for instance, some requirements in respect of aviation radar.
	In respect of offshore wind farms, the Secretary of State is responsible for discharging and enforcing development consent requirements alongside other marine regulators who are responsible for the requirements contained in other relevant licences and permits.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare Act 2006

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the maximum penalties set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

George Eustice: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 was reviewed in 2010 and no recommendation was made to amend the maximum penalties for animal welfare offences.

Dogs

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of dogs illegally entering the country each year.

George Eustice: The number of dogs seized and quarantined by trading standards or the police after illegally entering Great Britain in the last five financial years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 111 
			 2009-10 95 
			 2010-11 86 
			 2011-12 188 
			 2012-13 219 
		
	
	The most commonly stated reasons for seizure and quarantine were:
	the dog was too young for a valid rabies vaccination;
	the dog was not prepared for travel correctly (ie the dog was vaccinated prior to microchipping);
	the pet travel documents were missing or incomplete, or there was a discrepancy in the documents provided;
	the dog was not microchipped or the microchip could not be read;
	there was no rabies vaccination or there was a break in the rabies vaccination record.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the use of captive bolt gun and the legislation allowing its use against dogs.

George Eustice: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal and this includes the manner in which an animal may be put down. The recommended way of euthanising a dog is for a veterinary surgeon to administer an overdose of barbiturates. Other methods of euthanasia must be available in cases where emergency action is needed. If used correctly, captive bolt guns may avoid unnecessary suffering but they are not a recommended method of euthanising dogs. Anyone using an alternative method that causes the animal unnecessary suffering runs the risk of prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Incinerators

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effects of falling levels of general domestic waste caused by increased recycling and composting on plans to build new incinerators.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA keeps under review the progress towards meeting targets for diverting waste from landfill set under the EU landfill directive. Our most recent assessment of infrastructure capacity likely to be required in England to make the necessary contribution to the UK target for 2020 is available on the Gov.UK website (‘Forecasting 2020 waste arisings and treatment capacity’).

Incinerators

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure transparency to councillors and the public and accountability in the awarding of private finance initiative contracts to operate incinerators.

Dan Rogerson: It is for local authorities that are considering letting such contracts to ensure that councillors and the public are informed as necessary of the process and terms on which they propose to enter into contracts for waste infrastructure.
	DEFRA manages the approval process for waste PFI supported projects. For these, we require that local authorities make available their business cases and contracts on the appropriate media outlet (usually the local authority's web site).

Pets

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of dogs and cats in England; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: There is no official record or estimate of the number of cats and dogs in this country, but figures provided by other organisations such as the Pet Food Manufacturers Association and the RSPCA put the number at between 8 and 10 million of both cats and dogs.

Plants

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to improve honeysuckle habitats in the UK.

George Eustice: Native honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) is a woodland climber and is also found in hedgerows. It is especially important as a source of pollen, nectar and berries for a range of insects and birds and a useful nesting site for birds in woodland. Steps to improve these habitats include the management of ancient semi-natural woodland and hedgerows through Environmental Stewardship.
	Deer control also plays a role in improving conditions for honeysuckle as deer like to eat honeysuckle. The Government helps facilitate deer management through the provision of advice and guidance for those impacted by or wishing to manage deer. Natural England, in association with the Deer Initiative, provides this via its deer website:
	www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/species/deer.aspx
	Conservation of biodiversity is a devolved matter so action in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department makes of the (a) payment of minimum wage, (b) payment of living wage and (c) use of zero hours contracts when tendering for public procurement contracts.

Dan Rogerson: When tendering for public procurement contracts, core DEFRA makes assessments against a number of evaluation criteria including their approach to corporate social responsibility.
	The payment of the national minimum wage is a core requirement of the contract under which core DEFRA obtains its clerical and administrative temporary staff. Core DEFRA places many service-based contracts, such as facilities management. All the employees of the contractors delivering these services to core DEFRA earn the national minimum wage or above, but not all earn the living wage.
	Core DEFRA does not place zero-hours contracts, but there are contractors and subcontractors who source some of their work force on this basis. Core DEFRA does not currently typically use this as a criterion in evaluating tenders.

Trees: Diseases

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many trees were killed by (a) acute oak decline, (b) Asian longhorn beetle, (c) chalara dieback of ash, (d) chestnut blight and (e) dothistroma needle blight in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many trees were killed by (a) great spruce bark beetle, dendroctonus micans, (b) horse chestnut leaf miner, cameraria ohridella, (c) oak pinhole borer, platypus cylindrus, (d) oak processionary moth, thaumetopoea processionea, and (e) phytophthora alni in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dan Rogerson: Individual tree deaths that could be directly attributed to the pests and pathogens listed are not recorded by DEFRA or the Forestry Commission.
	Many trees that have been affected by pests and diseases will be felled long before they finally die and it is often the case that trees that do die have been affected by a combination of factors over a long period. For example, a tree that suffers repeated defoliation may succumb to other environmental factors. This means that it would be very difficult to attribute the death to a single factor.
	In some cases many more trees can be felled as a result of the control measures than as a result of the pest or disease. For example, for the control of Asian longhorn beetle in Kent, which appears to have been successful, 2,166 host trees were removed but only 66 were found to be infested.

Trees: Diseases

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of how many trees were killed by (a) Phytophthora austrocedrae, (b) Phytophthora kernoviae, (c) Phytophthora lateralis, (d) Phytophthora ramorum and (e) Pine tree lappet moth (Dendrolimus pini) for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

George Eustice: No monitoring of individual tree deaths that could be directly attributed to the pests and pathogens listed is carried out by DEFRA or the Forestry Commission.
	Many trees that have been affected by pests and diseases will be felled long before they finally die and it is often the case that trees that do die have been affected by a combination of factors over a long period. For example, a tree that suffers repeated defoliation may succumb to other environmental factors. This means that it would be very difficult to attribute the death to a single factor. Additionally, in some cases many more trees can be felled as a result of control measures than as a result of the pest or disease.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cayman Islands

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department has offered the government of the Cayman Islands with passage of the draft National Conservation Bill since 22 May 2013.

Mark Simmonds: At the 2012 Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), the UK and Territory Governments agreed to work together on a range of priority actions to protect the environment. We understand that, consistent with this, the National Conservation Bill (NCB) is due to establish a legal framework for environmental impact assessments, ensuring they are integrated into the national decision making processes. We have offered Territory leaders advice and support on environmental governance issues, recognising that this is a devolved responsibility of the Cayman Islands.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the recent decision by the Dutch Supreme Court to hold the Dutch government to account for the actions of its peacekeepers in Srebrenica, what assessment he has made of the implications of that decision for the readiness of UK allies to support UN missions.

Mark Simmonds: The Dutch Supreme Court ruled that that any read across to other UN Missions would be limited because of the unique circumstances. Any future assessment would depend on the nature of the individual Troop Contributing Country and its relationship with the UN, but also on events on the ground. We assess, however, that this ruling is unlikely to impact significantly on the thinking of our allies vis-à-vis their support for UN peacekeeping. The UK remains committed to ensuring that the UN delivers effective and efficient peacekeeping, and are supportive of those countries who wish to provide peacekeepers to UN Missions.

Cayman Islands

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of the Cayman Islands since 22 May 2013 with regard to the unspent money collected for the Environment Protection Fund.

Mark Simmonds: In September, UK Ministers agreed the Cayman Islands Budget, which included provisions for the Environment Protection Fund (EPF). The Cayman Islands Government is proposing a National Conservation Bill which will enshrine the EPF into law for the first time—setting out its purpose of buying and managing protected areas, protected species and their critical habitat.

Cayman Islands

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to discuss the National Conservation Bill and the Environment Protection Fund with the government of the Cayman Islands.

Mark Simmonds: At the 2012 Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), the UK and Territory Governments agreed to work together on a range of priority actions to protect the environment. We understand that, consistent with this, the National Conservation Bill (NCB) is due to establish a legal framework for environmental impact assessments, ensuring they are integrated into the national decision making processes. We have offered Territory leaders advice and support on environmental governance issues. I will be visiting Cayman Islands in early November, as well as having bilateral talks with the Cayman Islands' Premier at the 2013 JMC in late November. Environmental issues will likely be discussed at both of these events.

China

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese government on the persecution of Christians in China.

Hugo Swire: We strongly support freedom of religion for all, including in China. The prohibition of some religious groups, and the legal restrictions and harassment aimed at others, undermines freedom of religious belief in China. We raised freedom of religion in the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January 2012 and in our Annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report on Human Rights and Democracy, which we last published on 15 April 2013, and in the quarterly updates to that.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills regarding human rights in Colombia and the trade agreement between the EU and Colombia.

Hugo Swire: Both the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), take the issue of human rights in Colombia seriously and agree that the promotion of the UK's prosperity and the promotion and protection of human rights are mutually supportive priorities at the heart of the UK's foreign policy. Regular contact takes place between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and BIS at official level, as well as between UK and EU officials, on this subject.
	The UK is fully engaged on a range of human rights issues in Colombia. We firmly believe that trade agreements are important for economic growth and prosperity in developing countries, and contribute significantly to improved stability and prosperity, creating an environment where human rights are more likely to be respected.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the agenda is of the next EU-Colombia human rights dialogue; and what assistance he will be offering to the government of Colombia to secure progress on these issues over the coming months.

Hugo Swire: The eighth EU-Colombia human rights dialogue took place on 17 June 2013. The next dialogue will take place in Bogota in the first half of next year, and the purpose is to raise issues of mutual concern and explore how we can work more effectively together on human rights issues. The agenda is likely to be agreed nearer to the date, but we expect ongoing discussions between the EU and Colombia to focus on a range of issues, building on the last dialogue, including the military criminal justice system, application of human rights and international humanitarian law standards and protection of vulnerable population segments within Colombian society. The UK has discussed all of these issues in its wide ranging conversations with the Colombian Government and civil society on human rights.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurances has he received from the Colombian President about the involvement of (a) trades unions and (b) civil society in the implementation and monitoring of the trade agreement between the EU and Colombia.

Hugo Swire: We have not received assurances from the Colombian President regarding the involvement of trade unions and civil society in the implementation and monitoring of the trade agreement between the EU and Colombia. However, Colombia has produced an action plan setting 54 goals for the government to meet in relation to the trade agreement. The action plan shows the breadth of human rights issues on which the Colombian government is working and provides for a monitoring mechanism once the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) enters into force.
	We will continue our wider human rights work with unions and employer organisations to strengthen labour relations in Colombia.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Colombian President on the clauses relating to (a) human rights and (b) labour standards in the Trade Agreement between that country and the EU; and what assurances has he received on (i) human rights improvements and (ii) international labour standards in advance of the UK's ratification of the Agreement.

Hugo Swire: We have not had discussions with the Colombian President on the clauses relating to human rights and labour standards in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but we do raise broader human rights issues with the Colombian Government on a regular basis, including when the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last met President Santos in June.
	The UK pushed hard for a legally binding human rights clause in the text of this agreement, which is consistent with our policy to have a frank dialogue with Colombia and Peru on human rights. The FTA aims to raise human rights, labour and environmental standards in Colombia. As well as a clause allowing for revision of the FTA if any party is not complying with its human rights commitments, Colombia also produced an action plan setting 54 goals for the government to meet. The action plan shows the breadth of human rights issues on which the Colombian Government is working and provides for a monitoring mechanism once the FTA enters into force.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department considers appropriate measures as referenced in Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Trade Agreement between the EU and Colombia; under what circumstances he would consider invoking these; and what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts about the use of this clause.

Hugo Swire: Appropriate measures under Article 8 paragraph 3 of the agreement would comprise a range of carefully thought through levels of response to an established infringement of Article 1 by another party to the agreement. The Department concurs with the Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht, that such measures would be proportionate to the severity of the breach and could include the termination, or partial or total suspension of the agreement. The clause provides an avenue for measures to be taken in response to developments if necessary, without being too prescriptive in advance as to what those developments or measures might be. Discussions have taken place between UK, EU and European Commission officials within a number of working groups on this subject.

Israel

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 295W, on Israel, what assessment he has made of whether all bilateral programmes between the UK and Israel are compliant with EU law and international law.

Hugh Robertson: The British Government ensures it acts in accordance with our international law obligations at the very outset of entering into bilateral programmes with other countries.

Tibet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese government on Tibet.

Hugo Swire: We regularly express our concerns in public and privately to the Chinese Government about a wide range of human rights issues, including Tibet. We raised our concerns about human rights issues in Tibet directly with the Chinese Government in July and we will continue to do so. Tibet will form part of our discussions at the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. We are seeking to agree dates for the next Dialogue with the Chinese Government.

Tibet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to raise the persecution of Tibetan monks with the Chinese government.

Hugo Swire: We strongly support freedom of religion for all, including in China. The prohibition of some religious groups, and the legal restrictions and harassment aimed at others, undermines freedom of religious belief in China. We raised freedom of religion in the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January 2012 and in our Annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report on Human Rights and Democracy, which we last published on 15 April 2013, and in the quarterly updates to that.

Yemen

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of US drone attacks on the security situation in Yemen. [R]

Hugh Robertson: Drone strikes against terrorist targets in Yemen are a matter for the Yemeni and US Governments. We expect all concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting operations.

HEALTH

Cocoa: Cadmium

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the Food Standards Agency's ability to monitor cadmium in imported cocoa.

Jane Ellison: Maximum levels (MLs) for chocolate and cocoa products are in the final stage of being established in food safety legislation. The European Commission has proposed amending Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 to set MLs for cadmium in dark chocolate, milk chocolate and cocoa powder, with a five year transition period. The MLs will apply from 1 January 2019.
	Where MLs are not set for a foodstuff, the commodity must still comply with article 14 of Commission Regulation No. 178/2002 requiring that food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Therefore, enforcement action may still be taken on the basis of a risk assessment carried out by the Food Standards Agency, as a result of official control sampling and testing. Cocoa products imported into the United Kingdom are subject to such official controls.

Colorectal Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with medical authorities on trends in the incidence of bowel cancer in the UK.

Jane Ellison: No specific discussions have been had with the medical authorities on trends in incidence of bowel cancer in the United Kingdom. We know that bowel cancer incidence rates have increased overall in the UK since the 1970s, especially in men. Although rates fell at the end of the 1990s, they rose in the 2000s following the introduction of bowel cancer screening, which resulted in the identification of more bowel cancers.
	In January 2011 we published ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’. Backed by over £750 million over four years, the strategy set out an ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives every year by 2014-15 through earlier diagnosis of cancer and improved access to treatment for all cancers.

Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with diabetes retinopathy in England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally in the format requested.
	9,051 people with diabetes in England and Wales who were included in the 2009-10 National Diabetes Audit experienced retinopathy treatment between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011. The actual number of people who were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy in England and Wales in 2010-11 will be higher than this figure.

Diabetes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the NHS has made of the potential of cool laser treatment for the treatment of diabetes-related blindness.

Jane Ellison: No specific assessment of cool laser treatment has been made for the treatment of diabetes-related blindness. The treatment is still in an experimental stage and therefore there is currently insufficient evidence to support its usage.

Email

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will carry out an internal investigation into which officials in his Department released confidential emails to the hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire.

Norman Lamb: The Department understands that this parliamentary question relates to the release of emails sent or received by the then chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) during the month of January 2010. These emails were released by the CQC in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
	Internal processes were not properly observed on this occasion by the Department and the CQC. Internal investigations have revealed that this was a genuine oversight on behalf of officials, but nonetheless unacceptable.
	The Permanent Secretary has taken immediate steps within the Department to ensure that officials who might deal with FoI requests are aware of, and act in accordance with, established processes. The Permanent Secretary has written to the chief executives of all departmental agencies and non-departmental public bodies to raise awareness of processes.

NHS Property Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will publish the rent rolls for each property held under NHS Property Services Ltd;
	(2)  what (a) criteria and (b) processes were used in the recruitment of the (i) executive and (ii) non-executive members of NHS Property Services Ltd;
	(3)  what properties are held by NHS Property Services Ltd; and what the estimated total value of these properties is;
	(4)  what the (a) salary and (b) pension arrangements is of each (i) executive and (ii) non-executive director of NHS Property Services Ltd;
	(5)  how much NHS Property Services Ltd has spent on external consultants in the last year; what consultancies have been so used; and for how long and at what cost each such contract was;
	(6)  what expenditure from the NHS Property Services Ltd capital allocation has been used to pay for revenue funding for NHS Property Services Ltd to date.

Daniel Poulter: In order to procure expert advice to support the establishment of the company, NHS Property Services Limited (NHS PS) has engaged with the following consultants:
	KPMG Limited Liability Partnership, at a cost of £125,830 financial year 2013-14 to date, for advice on tax and accounting. This support is ongoing;
	Gallagher Employee Benefits, at a cost of £24,000, for work in November and December 2012 to assist the design of a defined contribution pension scheme;
	Deloitte Limited Liability Partnership, at a cost of £52,907 for work in July and August 2013 to support the identification and delivery of efficiencies;
	Metrosexual Health Limited at a cost of £5,175 to support job banding and evaluation. This support is ongoing; and
	Mills and Reeve Limited Liability Partnership, at a cost of £48,654 for work during March and April 2013 to support contractual agreements for the delivery of services locally and nationally.
	NHS PS is going through the process of determining the rent that will be charged to all its tenants in the 4,000 assets inherited from primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 1 April 2013. In consequence rent rolls for each property are not yet available.
	In respect of the executive team, the Director of Finance was appointed as a temporary secondment from Community Health Partnerships, the Department of Health owned company which manages NHS LIFT estate in primary and community care. The Chief Executive was appointed from the NHS through a fair and appropriate recruitment process.
	The Department followed a full and transparent recruitment process on behalf of NHS PS to appoint the non-executive directors (NEDs). An executive search firm was used as part of the process.
	NHS PS, a limited company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health, was created to take that part of the PCT estate which did not transfer to NHS providers on 1 April 2013.
	On that date, around 4,000 properties previously owned by PCTs and SHAs were inherited by NHS PS, at a value of just over £3 billion. The property portfolio transferred to NHS PS includes care homes, community centres, general practitioner surgeries, health centres, support buildings, offices and land.
	Details of the sites and buildings that are owned or managed by NHS PS are available at:
	https://nhsps.micadipr.net/portals/default2.asp
	Details of the salaries of the executive and NEDs are as follows :
	
		
			 Title Salary (bands of £10,000) 
			 Director of Corporate Services 90 to 100 
			 Chief Executive 140 to 150 
			 Chief Operating Officer 130 to 140 
			 Director of Finance and Business Planning 120 to 130 
			 Director of Asset Management (1)— 
			 Director of Communications and Business Services 130 to 140 
			   
			 NEDs  
			 Chair 44,000 
			 NED 1 24,000 
			 NED 2 14,000 
			 NED 3 23,000 
			 NED 4 14,000 
			 (1) On secondment from the Department 
		
	
	All executive directors are part of the NHS pension scheme, apart from one director who belongs to the company pension scheme.
	NHS PS, at the instruction of the Department used cash allocated to it for capital purposes to provide short-term financing for its revenue expenditure. The Department subsequently made a further investment which returned the amount of cash available for capital purposes to its original level.

NHS: Apprenticeships

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, columns 428-9W, on NHS: apprenticeships, which department had budgetary responsibility for NHS apprenticeships in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Daniel Poulter: The Department of Health held budget responsibility for national health service apprenticeships in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	Although there was no centralised funding for this policy in both 2011-12 and 2012-13 the Department had invested £25 million in 2009-10 and £10 million in 2010-11.

Organs: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of organ donors.

Jane Ellison: We have a number of initiatives to encourage people to add their name to the organ donor register (ODR). Much of this work is led by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in conjunction with a number of partners in the private, public and third sectors. For example, people may sign up to the ODR when they register with a new general practitioner, when applying for a new passport, when applying for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and when applying for a Boots advantage card. We have established a prompted choice scheme, working in partnership with the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which requires people applying for a driving licence online to consider organ donation.
	NHSBT have worked with stakeholders to develop a United Kingdom strategy ‘Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020’ to further increase donation and transplantation. The report was published in July 2013 and builds on work undertaken to increase deceased donation rates by 50% between 2008 and 2013. They also run multi-media campaigns, education programmes in schools and community engagement programmes to raise awareness of organ donation and promote registration on the ODR.
	We have also set up the National Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people on bone marrow and whole organ registers, and to increase donation rates in those communities.

Organs: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the six most frequent organ donations in the UK were in each of the last five years; and how many such operations were carried out.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Most common transplant types in United Kingdom and number of these procedures from April 2008 to March 2013—includes both living and deceased donors 
			 Transplant type 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			 Kidney 2,330 2,519 2,523 2,608 2,818 12,798 
			 Liver(1) 678 686 688 764 806 3,622 
			 Lung(2) 143 145 169 175 188 820 
			 Kidney/pancreas 151 159 155 173 166 804 
			 Heart 129 121 131 141 142 664 
			 Small bowel 4 7 11 12 7 41 
			 Total 3,435 3,637 3,677 3,873 4,127 18,749 
			 (1) Includes partial. (2) Single or double or partial transplants. Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Patients: Safety

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress the Government has made in improving patient safety in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England is responsible for patient safety in the national health service.
	The Government will hold NHS England to account via delivery of Domain 5 of the NHS Outcomes Framework, "Treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm".
	NHS England is working to improve the collection and accessibility of key safety data, including the voluntary collection, the NHS Safety Thermometer, which is based on patient assessments carried out by health care professionals in respects of four types of patient harm—pressure ulcers, falls, urinary tract infections in patients with catheters and new venous thromboembolisms.
	In September 2013, almost 193,000 patient assessments were returned compared with just over 166,500 submitted in September 2012. Just under half (47%) of these assessments were from acute hospital wards, while the remainder were from other care settings.
	The data shows that 179,626 (93.1%) of patients assessed received harm-free care in September 2013, compared to 152,701 (91.7%) in September 2012. Moreover, submission of NHS Safety Thermometer data has increased markedly, with 735 organisations reporting in September 2013 (502 organisations in September 2012).
	Earlier this year, the Government created the position of chief inspector of hospitals, general practice and adult social care. Professor Sir Mike Richards has begun a thorough process of inspection that will give an expert peer-reviewed insight into all aspects of how each of our NHS trusts operate.
	The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is putting in place a number of changes to improve the way it inspects the quality and safety of hospitals. It is moving towards a more specialised inspection model, with inspectors specialising in particular areas of care, a greater focus on culture and leadership, and teams that include clinical and other experts, and people with experience of care.
	Alongside this, the Department and the CQC are working together to develop new fundamental standards of care. These will be common-sense statements that describe the basic requirements that care providers should always meet, and outline the outcomes that patients or care-service users should always expect. All care providers registered with the CQC will be legally required to meet them.

Primary Health Care

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether NHS practitioners are made aware of the potential uses of self-monitoring technology in healthcare;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that patients have access to monitoring and self-management opportunities for long-term conditions.

Jane Ellison: Responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from healthcare services lies with NHS England.
	It is for individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission treatment and services for patients on medications which require monitoring, as they are best placed to identify what is needed in their local areas. It is the responsibility of NHS England to support CCGs and ensure that they are safely and effectively discharging their commissioning responsibilities, and are making progress in delivering outcomes. This support may include providing supportive commissioning resources, tools or guidance.

Sepsis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the number of deaths from sepsis in England and Wales.

Daniel Poulter: The Government is taking steps to prevent avoidable deaths from sepsis. These include setting objectives in the NHS Mandate requiring the national health service to provide a high quality of patient care and ensuring that the NHS Outcomes Framework for 2013-14 includes patient safety outcomes and corresponding indicators that will be used to hold the NHS to account for improvements in health outcomes.
	We are also collaborating with Dr Ron Daniels, who was instrumental in developing the “Sepsis Six” protocols for treating sepsis. He has been meeting with the NHS England Surgical Services Patient Safety Expert Group, the NHS England Children and Young People Patient Safety Expert Group, and the Royal College of Physicians Safety Board. He is also liaising with a number of National Clinical Directors and the Patient Safety Domain team of NHS England to agree potential next steps and possible project activities as part of their work programme on deterioration.

Skin Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had on new treatment methods for skin cancer in the UK.

Jane Ellison: Since 1 April NHS England has been responsible for improving outcomes for skin cancer patients in England. NHS England has established a Specialised Dermatology Clinical Reference Group that has published a service specification for adult skin cancer services. The specification outlines a number of interventions suitable for the treatment of skin cancer and can be found on the NHS England website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/resources/spec-comm-resources/npc-crg/group-a/a12/
	The Department has had no specific discussions on new treatment methods for skin cancer in the United Kingdom. Skin cancer treatments in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are a matter for the devolved Administrations of those countries.

Smoking: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to prevent young people taking up smoking.

Jane Ellison: Reducing the uptake of smoking by children is a public health priority for the Government because the Department estimates that, each year in England, over 300,000 children under 16 years old try smoking for the first time.
	The Government's comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to reduce tobacco use in England, set out in ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England’ (March 2011), includes a specific national ambition to reduce smoking rates among 15-year-olds in England to 12% or less by the end of 2015.
	A range of action is being taken by the Government to reduce smoking rates, in particular the numbers of young people starting to smoke. We need to influence the adult world in which children grow up to stop the perpetuation of smoking from one generation to the next. The Tobacco Control Plan includes encouragement for communities across England to reshape social norms, so that tobacco becomes less desirable, less acceptable and less accessible.
	The Government has stopped tobacco sales from vending machines, once an easily accessible and often unsupervised source of tobacco for children. Eye-catching displays of cigarettes, which can promote smoking by young people, have been covered in supermarkets and other large stores since April 2012 and will be covered in small shops in April 2015. A number of national marketing campaigns have been run to support smokers to quit. The Government has also continued to follow a policy of using tax to maintain the high price of tobacco products at levels that impact on smoking prevalence and has continued to tackle the availability of illicit tobacco.
	The most recent information on young people's smoking rates is available in ‘Smoking Drinking and Drug use among young people in England in 2012’. The report shows a continued downwards trend in smoking by young people and that 10% of 15-year-olds in 2012 were regular smokers.

Sunbeds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the British Medical Association on side effects of the use of sun beds.

Jane Ellison: There have been no recent discussions with the British Medical Association on the side effects from the use of sunbeds.
	However, information for the public on the risk of skin damage and skin cancer from sunbed use is available from the Cancer Research UK website.

HOME DEPARTMENT

101 Calls

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls the police 101 service has received in each month from its launch to date.

Damian Green: The introduction of the ‘101’ number is a significant step forward in the Government's ambition to reconnect the police and public. ‘101’ gives the public an easy and memorable number, helping to improve the reporting of crime as well as support the police to efficiently and effectively tackle crime and disorder.
	The total number of calls received by police from the 101 service is given in the table. 101 was launched in September 2010 and rolled out nationally in England and Wales in January 2012; Scotland joined the 101 service in April 2013.
	
		
			 Month and year Calls received by police from the 101 service 
			 2010  
			 September 166,320 
			 October 166,027 
			 November 161,540 
			 December 147,826 
			   
		
	
	
		
			 2011  
			 January 168,799 
			 February 157,316 
			 March 176,490 
			 April 205,865 
			 May 187,136 
			 June 212,051 
			 July 314,961 
			 August 380,674 
			 September 437,120 
			 October 546,956 
			 November 747,533 
			 December 908,600 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 1,119,330 
			 February 1,184,619 
			 March 1,435,289 
			 April 1,353,075 
			 May 1,584,306 
			 June 1,545,613 
			 July 1,716,055 
			 August 1,722,813 
			 September 1,664,678 
			 October 1,774,728 
			 November 1,706,542 
			 December 1,533,986 
			   
			 2013  
			 January 1,710,780 
			 February 1,711,863 
			 March 1,610,079 
			 April 1,662,242 
			 May 1,756,878 
			 June 1,811,525 
			 July 2,101,565 
			 August 1,936,499 
			 September 1,826,372

Animal Experiments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were used in medical experimentation in 2012; what steps she is taking to reduce the use of animals in medical experimentation; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: During 2012, 495,694 animals were used in applied studies for human medicine or dentistry.
	In 2010, the Government made a commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in "Coalition: our programme for Government". The Coalition Commitment is not concerned with just baseline numbers, but encompasses the replacement, refinement and reduction (3R's) more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science led approach. We will publish a Delivery Plan this autumn that will set out how the Government is supporting and encouraging these advances and the programmes and policies through which Government will continue to deliver its commitment. The consequence will be accelerated take up of the 3R's—both domestically and internationally set on the tenets of good science, good animal welfare and good for the UK and economic growth.
	The number of animals likely to be used in any given year is dependent on many factors, including investment in research and development, strategic decisions by funding bodies, global economic trends and scientific innovation. Although progress is being made with alternative methods, increased funding of scientific research has the potential to increase both animal and non-animal work. The increased animal use in recent years reflects new research trends, increased investment, and changes in regulatory requirements and does not mean that efforts to advance the 3Rs are failing.

Animal Experiments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the increase in the number of canines used in animal experimentation during 2012; what steps she is taking to reduce the number of canines used in animal experimentation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Cats, dogs, non-human primates and horses are given special protection under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and may be used only if no other species is suitable or it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for the purposes of the relevant programme of work.
	Dogs are primarily used in pharmaceutical research and development, or in pharmaceutical safety and efficacy evaluations. They are also used when no other species is suitable in the evaluation of cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory problems in humans. Such work contributes to advances in human health care. Dogs are also used in the development of veterinary medicines and techniques and the numbers used reflects activity in the sector.
	The number of animals likely to be used in any given year is dependent on many factors, including investment in research and development, strategic decisions by funding bodies, global economic trends and scientific innovation. Although progress is being made with alternative methods, increased funding of scientific research has the potential to increase both animal and non-animal work. The increased animal use in recent years reflects new research trends, increased investment, and changes in regulatory requirements and does not mean that efforts to advance the replacement, refinement and reduction (3Rs) are failing.
	In 2010, the Government made a commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in "Coalition: our programme for Government". The Coalition Commitment is not concerned with just baseline numbers, but encompasses the 3R's more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science led approach. We will publish a Delivery Plan this autumn that will set out how the Government is supporting and encouraging these advances and the programmes and policies through which Government will continue to deliver its commitment. The consequence will be accelerated take up of the 3R's—both domestically and internationally set on the tenets of good-science, good animal welfare and good for the UK and economic growth.

Animal Experiments

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the increase in the number of felines used in animal experimentation during 2012; what steps she is taking to reduce the number of felines used in animal experimentation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Cats, dogs, non-human primates and horses are given special protection under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and may be used only if no other species is suitable or it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for the purposes of the relevant programme of work.
	Cats are primarily used in the development of veterinary medicines and techniques, and in neurological research. Much of the veterinary research is for the benefit of cats. The increase from 2011 to 2012 was 12 (247 during 2012 compared to 235 in 2011.) The number of cats used did increase significantly for use in veterinary research with a reduction in both procedures and cats used in basic research.
	The number of animals likely to be used in any given year is dependent on many factors, including investment in research and development, strategic decisions by funding bodies, global economic trends and scientific innovation. Although progress is being made with alternative methods, increased funding of scientific research has the potential to increase both animal and non-animal work. The increased animal use in recent years reflects new research trends, increased investment, and changes in regulatory requirements and does not mean that efforts to advance the replacement, refinement and reduction (3Rs) are failing.
	In 2010, the Government made a commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in ‘Coalition: our programme for Government’. The coalition commitment is not concerned with just baseline numbers, but encompasses the 3Rs more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science led approach. We will publish a Delivery Plan this autumn that will set out how the Government is supporting and encouraging these advances and the programmes and policies through which Government will continue to deliver its commitment. The consequence will be accelerated take up of the 3Rs—both domestically and internationally set on the tenets of good science, good animal welfare and good for the UK and economic growth.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were recorded in Scotland in 2012; and how many such infringements led to a prosecution.

James Brokenshire: There were four infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Scotland recorded in 2012 in which action was completed by the Secretary of State. None of these infringements led to a prosecution.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of regulated procedures conducted in Scotland under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2012 were performed in (a) public health laboratories, (b) universities and medical schools, (c) NHS hospitals, (d) Government departments, (e) other public bodies, (f) non-profit-making organisations and (g) commercial organisations.

James Brokenshire: During 2012 92.5% of regulated procedures conducted in Scotland under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were performed at universities and medical schools, 5% at other public bodies, 2% at commercial organisations and one half of 1% at Government Departments and non-profit-making organisations.

Animal Experiments: Scotland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places in Scotland were designated as a (a) supplying establishment, (b) breeding establishment and (c) scientific procedure under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at the end of 2012.

James Brokenshire: As at 31 December 2012 in Scotland there were 10 supplying, 15 breeding and 26 user establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. An establishment can be a user, breeder and supplier.

Antisocial Behaviour: Greater Manchester

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued to people in Manchester in each year since their introduction.

Norman Baker: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) became available from l April 1999. The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in Greater Manchester in each year since 1 April 1999 to 2011 (the latest year for which data are currently available) can be viewed in the following table. ASBO data covering the period to the end of 2012 are planned for publication on 31 October 2013.
	
		
			 Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts(1) in the Greater Manchester Criminal Justice System (CJS) area as reported to the Ministry of Justice(2) by the Court Service, 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2011 
			 Area Apr 1999- May 2000 Jun- Dec 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total issued 
			 Greater Manchester 10 2 25 78 236 430 458 225 178 151 105 134 81 2,113 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates' courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which became available on 1 April 1999 and ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown Court and at magistrates courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which became available on 2 December 2002. (2) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, numbers of ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Prepared by Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice

DNA: Databases

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what DNA databases are currently held by the Government; what the function is of each; how many people are included on each; where each database is held; for how long each database has been open; and where each such database will be held after the Government's reforms of national policing are complete.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 October 2013
	The Government currently holds five databases containing electronic DNA profile information. Details below reflect the position as it stood on 30 September 2013.
	The national DNA database (NDNAD) holds DNA profiles taken from individuals and crime scenes. It is used for purposes related to the prevention or detection of crime, the investigation of an offence or the conduct of a prosecution; in the interests of national security; for the purposes of a terrorist investigation; and for purposes related to the identification of a deceased person or of the person to whom material relates. It was set up in April 1995 and currently holds 6,074,866 DNA profiles.
	The missing persons DNA database holds DNA profiles obtained from the belongings of people who have gone missing, or from their close relatives (who will have similar DNA), as well as profiles taken from the bodies of unidentified people. It matches missing people (sometimes via their relatives) to unidentified bodies, and can also eliminate a missing person if an unidentified body is found matching their description. It was set up in April 2010 and currently holds 895 DNA profiles.
	The vulnerable persons DNA database holds DNA profiles of people who are at risk of harm (for instance due to child sexual exploitation or honour-based violence) and who have asked for their profile to be added. If the person subsequently goes missing, their profile can be checked against the main NDNAD to see if they match to any material such as blood or an unidentified body found at a crime scene, helping the police to investigate their disappearance. It was set up in March 2011 and currently holds 1,967 DNA profiles.
	The police elimination database holds DNA profiles for police officers and staff. These profiles are used for elimination purposes in criminal casework. It was set up in August 2000 and currently holds 127,100 profiles.
	These four databases are run by the Home Office, having been transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on its closure.
	The counter-terrorism (CT) DNA database holds profiles retained specifically for the purposes of national security. It was established in July 2006 and is managed and maintained by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on behalf of UK CT policing. Due to the sensitive nature of the CT DNA database it is not possible to confirm the number of profiles held.

Drugs: Misuse

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government's drugs strategy in achieving its overarching aims of (a) reducing illicit and other harmful drug use and (b) increasing the numbers recovering from dependence.

Norman Baker: holding answer 15 October 2013
	We are currently developing our approach to evaluating the 2010 Drug Strategy and this will include an assessment of its effectiveness and value for money in achieving its overarching aims.
	We currently monitor trends on drug use using the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and trends on the numbers recovering from dependence using the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). The 2012-13 CSEW shows drug use is now at its lowest level since measurement began in 1996 and the 2011-12 NDTMS shows increasing numbers are leaving treatment free of dependency.
	Further information on the 2012-13 CSEW can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2012-to-2013-csew/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2012-to-2013-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales
	Further information on the 2011-12 NDTMS can be found at:
	http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/statisticsfromndtms201112vol1thenumbersfinal.pdf

Drugs: Misuse

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the next review of the Government's drug strategy Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to Live a Drug Free Life, will be conducted; and whether the terms of reference will be the same as those used in previous reviews.

Norman Baker: holding answer 15 October 2013
	The first annual review of the Government’s Drug Strategy ‘Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to Live a Drug Free Life’ was published on 17 May 2012. The second drug strategy annual review has been conducted, using the same terms of reference as those used in the first review. We are aiming to publish the document in the near future.

Knives: Amnesties

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife amnesties were held in each police authority area in each year since 2010.

Norman Baker: holding answer 14 October 2013
	The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. This information is held by the individual police forces.

Knives: Crime

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing stop and search powers for reducing knife crime in nightclubs and other late night establishments.

Norman Baker: holding answer 14 October 2013
	There has been no formal Home Office assessment into the adequacy of existing stop and search powers for reducing knife crime in night clubs and other late night establishments.
	Licensed premises, such as nightclubs, employ Security Industry Authority licensed door supervisors who may refuse entry to individuals whom they consider pose a risk.
	Under section 1 of the Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984, police officers have the power to stop and search a person who is reasonably suspected of carrying an offensive weapon.

Performance Appraisal

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by her Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13.

James Brokenshire: For the period 2012-13, of those staff who made a positive statement about their disability status:
	12.9% of disabled staff were in the top category, 75.0% were in the middle and 12.1% were in the lower.
	21.4% of non-disabled staff were in the top category, 72.1% were in the middle and 6.5% were in the lower.

Police: Political Activities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on participation by police officers in political campaigning.

Damian Green: holding answer 15 October 2013
	Participation by police officers in political campaigning is prohibited by law. Schedule 1 to the Police Regulations 2003 states that:
	“A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it may so interfere... A member of a police force shall in particular... not take any active part in politics”.
	Failure to abide by these regulations may give rise to misconduct proceedings under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. Further, it is a criminal offence under section 100 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 for a police officer to canvass in a parliamentary or local election. There is similar legislation applicable to European Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Police and Crime Commissioner elections, and local referendums.

Security Guards

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement of 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 30WS, on regulatory regime: private security industry, what discussions she is having with the security industry on these proposals; and if she expects to bring legislative proposals in this area before May 2014.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 October 2013
	The Government is planning to lay secondary legislation for the regulation of businesses in the private security industry during this parliamentary session, which will end in spring 2014. The Government is working closely with the Security Industry Authority and those in the industry to help prepare these reforms.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much in total has been spent to date on the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park in Afghanistan; and what the original budget was for both those projects;
	(2)  whether the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park received funding through (a) the Helmand Growth Fund and (b) other budgets held by her Department; and what the (i) monetary value and (ii) cost headings were of that funding.

Justine Greening: As part of a programme approved under the previous Government in 2009, DFID spent a total of £8.42 million on the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park in Afghanistan. This was funded partly through the Helmand Growth Programme and partly through other budgets.
	Since 2010, Ministers have assessed that this programme did not represent value for taxpayers money and work on the Agricultural Business Park programme has been discontinued.

Burma

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will promote the rational use of antibiotics in obstetrics in Burma's health system.

Alan Duncan: DFID programmes, including in Burma, follow international guidelines for antibiotic use. Guidelines for antibiotic use in maternal health services follow international best practice.

Burma

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support she is providing to Burma to ensure that family planning and reproductive health services are being offered to all communities.

Alan Duncan: The UK supports the Three Millennium Development Goal Trust Fund in Burma and has allocated £80 million over four financial years (2012 to 2016) in support of the fund. 70% of this is allocated to support access to essential health services for maternal and child health as well as sexual and reproductive health rights and family planning. The fund operates across the whole country, with a particular focus on seven vulnerable states and divisions.

Burma

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support she is providing to Burma to develop its health system. [R]

Alan Duncan: The UK supports the Three Millennium Development Goal Fund—the major health trust fund in Burma. So far the UK has allocated £80 million over four financial years (2012 to 2016) in support of the fund. One of its objectives is to help the Burmese Ministry of Health provide more equitable, affordable and quality health services to the most vulnerable populations within Burma.

Developing Countries: Health Services

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will take steps to ensure the dissemination and training of health personnel in essential medicine treatment guidelines and supervision in projects supported by her Department.

Alan Duncan: The World Health Organisation advises national governments on essential drug lists in the countries in which DFID works. In addition it provides support for the development of guidelines on the use of essential medicines and generic drugs. DFID emphasises the importance of the appropriate use of medicines, and management of prescribing practice in its policy dialogue with Ministries of Health.

JUSTICE

Bail

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people granted bail committed offences while on bail; and what offences were committed in each month since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The proportion of people being bailed has remained stable over the past five years, The total number of offences committed by those granted on bail has reduced by 23% from around 173,000 in 2007 to around 132,000 in 2012.
	The court always has to make an assessment of the risks involved on releasing the defendant on bail to the public or the administration of justice, and it is the courts that are best placed to weigh up all the relevant factors. We expect the police and courts to take extreme care when making a decision to grant bail and the overwhelming majority of people bailed do not reoffend while on bail. Where a person does commit an offence while on bail, this must be treated as an aggravating factor when sentencing for that offence.
	I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given on 6 February 2013, Official Report, column 300W:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130206/text/130206w0004.htm#130206116004317
	As there has been some time between this question and the one referred to above, there are an additional nine months of data available which are given in Tables 2 and 3.
	Table 1 shows the number of offenders in each year who have committed an offence while on bail between May 2005 and the end of March 2013. Please note that the last year ends in March in line with published data and therefore only includes 11 months.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of offenders in each year between May 2005 and the end of March 2013 who have committed an offence while on bail, England and Wales 
			  Offenders(1) 
			 May 2005 to April 2006 64,192 
			 May 2006 to April 2007 70,166 
			 May 2007 to April 2008 78,518 
			 May 2008 to April 2009 74,534 
			 May 2009 to April 2010 74,648 
			 May 2010 to April 2011 71,896 
			 May 2011 to April 2012 66,820 
			 May 2012 to March 2013 53,897 
			 (1) An offender may appear more than once, if they have committed an offence while on bail in separate years 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of offences committed by those granted bail(1) in each month in 2012, England and Wales 
			 Class July August September October November December 
			 Breach offences 944 792 777 904 840 657 
			 Burglary 572 512 516 586 579 408 
			 Criminal damage 115 112 132 117 106 76 
			 Drug offences 1,061 1,107 1,032 1,062 986 759 
			 Fraud and forgery 232 255 219 257 266 149 
			 Indictable motoring offences 36 33 34 36 53 41 
			 Other indictable offences 887 911 800 978 913 637 
			 Robbery 185 142 145 191 194 147 
			 Sexual offences 36 52 51 59 54 44 
			 Summary motoring offences 747 764 618 771 743 590 
			 Summary offences excluding motoring 3,091 3,052 2,747 2,871 2,714 2,047 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 3,055 3,203 2,733 3,072 3,117 2,290 
			 Violence against the person 760 756 663 667 676 593 
			        
			 Total(2) 11,721 11,691 10,469 11,571 11,247 8,439 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of offences committed by those granted bail(1) in each month in 2013(3), England and Wales 
			 Class January February March 
			 Breach offences 783 647 696 
			 Burglary 462 422 473 
			 Criminal damage 107 84 75 
			 Drug offences 1,032 864 821 
			 Fraud and forgery 222 254 267 
			 Indictable motoring offences 37 36 42 
			 Other indictable offences 770 729 627 
			 Robbery 115 160 129 
			 Sexual offences 68 43 65 
			 Summary motoring offences 619 597 575 
			 Summary offences excluding motoring 2,763 2,177 2,040 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 2,946 2,573 2,445 
			 Violence against the person 644 543 504 
			     
			 Total(2) 10,571 9,131 8,760 
			 (1)The bail included in this table includes all people granted bail, including police bail (prior to first court appearance), and court bail (both magistrates and crown court). For further information regarding bail please see the Court Proceedings section of Criminal Justice Statistics publication: http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-statistics (2) Includes a small number of crimes which fall outside of any of the other categories. (3 )2013 only includes January to March in line with published information. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	Due to the differences between the way offences committed on bail and the number of people given bail are counted, along with issues around dates, it is not possible to directly compare the figures. It is therefore not possible to gain an accurate proportion of those who are given bail by the police or courts, who then go on to commit an offence while on bail.
	There are known issues with PNC data on offences committed while on bail. In particular the recording of information on whether or not the offence was committed while the offender was on bail is known to be incomplete. This is because the police have available to them a number of ways of recording the bail status of an offender of which the ‘offence committed on bail’ field on the PNC is one. For operational purposes police forces make differing use of these various sources and as a result figures derived purely from the PNC do not provide a complete picture of these offences, and therefore changes over time. These data may not represent real changes in offending while on bail.

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available.

Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice participates in the Department for Energy and Climate Change administered Government Carbon Offsetting Framework (GCOF) scheme, which offsets carbon emissions related to departmental business travel. In the latest year for which figures are available (2011-12), the Ministry of Justice spent £389.74 on offsetting costs under the GCOF scheme compared to £1,431 in 2010-11. Although CO2 emissions have remained fairly steady, the cost of carbon offsetting has significantly reduced and fallen from £12.00 to £0.68 per tonne over the past three years.

Convention on the Protection of the European Communities’ Financial Interests

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many convictions were handed down in the UK in each of the last five years for acts the UK is required to criminalise under the First Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests; and what the sentence was for each of these convictions;
	(2)  how many convictions were handed down in the UK in each of the last five years for acts the UK is required to criminalise under the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests; what the sentence was for each of these convictions; and how much money the offence related to in each case;
	(3)  how many convictions were handed down in the UK in each of the last five years for acts the UK is required to criminalise under the Second Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests; and what the sentence or penalty was for each of these convictions.

Nicky Morgan: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The UK is compliant with all the requirements of the Convention, First Protocol and Second Protocol on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests via the Theft Act 1968, Criminal Justice Act 1993, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Fraud Act 2006, and the Bribery Act of 2010. The Government has no plans to repeal this legislation and cooperation will continue as it does under current practice.
	The Government does not hold data relating specifically to the protection of the European Communities' financial interests. However, the Commission's estimates of irregularities reported as fraudulent in their latest Fight Against Fraud report can be found here:
	http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/reports/communities-reports/index_en.htm
	and the European Anti-Fraud Office Report:
	http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/reports/olaf-report/
	both published online annually.

Drugs: Crime

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answers of 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1298-1302W, if he will provide the latest data available on the number of offenders cautioned for and found guilty of (a) possession of drugs offences and (b) cannabis possession offences in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: The number of cautions given for drugs offences has fallen as has the number of those being given for the offence of cannabis possession. The overall use of cautions is also declining.
	The decision whether to offer a caution is an operational matter for the police and in some circumstances the CPS depending on the circumstances of the offence and offender. The Government is clear that serious offences should always be brought to court, and to ensure that there is increased public confidence in the justice system, recently announced changes to stop the use of cautions for indictable only offences and certain serious either way offences unless there are exceptional circumstances and a senior, police officer, as well as the CPS for certain cases, has agreed that a caution should be administered. We are making these changes to ensure that those who admit to serious offences are dealt with appropriately.
	Data detailing the number of offenders cautioned for all drug offences and for cannabis possession offences in England and Wales, 2007 to 2012 can be viewed in Table 1. Data detailing the number of offenders convicted of all drug offences, together with separate data for those convicted of possession of cannabis in England and Wales, 2007 to 2012 can be viewed in Table 2.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offenders cautioned for possession of drugs offences, England and Wales, 2007-12(1, 2, 3) 
			 Offence 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 All drug possession offences 39,667 43,582 39,652 36,007 37,320 34,100 
			 Of which:       
			 Possession of cannabis(4) 21,247 22,823 20,609 18,870 19,255 16,985 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Data includes S.5(2) and schedule 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971—“Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis or cannabis resin”. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Offenders found guilty at all courts of possession of drugs offences, England and Wales, 2007-12(1, 2) 
			 Offence 2007 2008(3) 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 All drug possession offences 31,722 38,087 41,342 43,406 43,162 39,836 
			 Of which:       
			 Possession of cannabis(4) 14,073 17,855 21,457 25,188 26,543 24,726 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (4) Data includes S.5(2) and schedule 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971—“Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis or cannabis resin”. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Legal Aid Scheme

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effects of changes to legal aid on small- and medium-sized firms of solicitors.

Shailesh Vara: On 5 September 2013 the Government published its response to the ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’ consultation, and, simultaneously, published proposals for further consultation on a modified model of procurement for criminal legal aid and two options for revising the criminal advocacy fee scheme. This response, ‘Transforming Legal Aid; Next Steps’, and the seven accompanying impact assessments outline our assessment of the impact on micro, small, and medium sized enterprises (as defined under the Companies Act 2006), which constitute the majority of current legal aid providers.
	Although we have decided to proceed with the proposed reforms to civil fees, this is in the context of the outcome of the 2013 civil legal aid tender process for contracts, which reflected the scope reforms introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Overall, this tender was significantly oversubscribed which indicates that there currently remains a strong appetite among providers to do legal aid work. This does not tell us whether there will be a sufficient number of providers in the market in the long-term, and the actual current viability of any contracted firm or how this might be impacted by the fee changes. However, it does suggest that there is currently competition for work and therefore scope for at least some providers to withdraw from the market while still maintaining a sustainable market supply.
	We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including around £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer. Even after these latest proposals we will have one of the most generous legal aid systems in the world, costing around £1.5 billion a year.

Legal Profession: Complaints

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many complaints the Legal Ombudsman decided not to investigate because they were submitted out of time in each year since 2010;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the late submission of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement.

Shailesh Vara: The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) agrees the scheme rules for the legal ombudsman with the Legal Services Board and Lord Chancellor. The scheme rules include time limits. In 2012 the OLC consulted on changes to its scheme rules including proposals to extend time limits. As a result, from 1 February 2013, time limits for accepting a complaint were extended from a year to six years from the date of act/omission or three years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint. This is in line with the time limits operated by the courts and other ombudsmen.
	The legal ombudsman's records show that the total “out of time” closures were as follows:
	2010-11: 819 (2.15% of total contacts)
	2011-12: 2,106 (2.79% of total contacts)
	2012-13: 1,662 (2.33% of total contacts)
	April 2013 to September 2013: 376 (1.06% the total contacts).
	Complaints which had received a jurisdiction check prior to 1 February 2013 were dealt with under the old scheme rules and all new complaints which had not had a jurisdiction check prior to 1 February fell under the new scheme rules.
	There has not been a significant growth in number of complaints received by the legal ombudsman following the scheme rules changes. Numbers of out of time complaints are 55% down on previous year's figures.
	One representation has been received in the last six months on the late submission of complaints to the legal ombudsman.

Prisoners

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce offender behaviour programme waiting lists.

Jeremy Wright: We are taking steps to ensure these programmes have the maximum possible impact on reoffending.
	The introduction of commissioning from 2012 has enabled the better targeting of programme provision to meet risk and need using a segmentation tool. This approach, together with other specific risk of harm data, helps guide the commissioning of programmes to best meet the need of each prison and region.
	We have implemented changes in operating models, such as the regionalisation of psychological services to ensure that referrals are identified and managed in a consistent manner across sites, rather than historically site by site.
	In relation to interventions for sex offenders in particular, a national review of sex offender provision aims to produce a strategic plan for the management of sex offenders that will be applied nationally.

Prisoners

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners remained in custody beyond the end of their sentence because of an error by his Department in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through a trawl of individual records of prisoner releases.

Prisoners’ Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of prisoners were released having served less than half their sentence in prison in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of offenders who were sentenced to a (a) two weeks, (b) four weeks, (c) thee months, (d) six months, (e) one year, (f) two years and (g) four years custodial sentence who served the minimum amount of time in prison in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The release of determinate prisoners is governed by statute. Under section 244 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, all standard determinate sentenced prisoners are subject to automatic release at the halfway point of their sentence, and serve the balance of their sentence in the community. Prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more are released on licence under supervision, and can be recalled to prison at any time if they breach the conditions on their licence.
	There is no statutory entitlement for any prisoner to be released before they have served half of their sentence. For a minority of prisoners, who are low risk, there is the possibility of the final stage of the custodial half of their sentence being served on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in the community, subject to an electronically monitored curfew enforced by wearing a tagging device. Of those within the eligible sentence range, only around 25% are, in fact, released on HDC.
	For indeterminate sentence prisoners, the sentencing judge sets a minimum tariff to be served or may impose a whole life tariff. No indeterminate sentence prisoner can expect to be released before they have served the tariff period in full. Release on expiry of the tariff period is not automatic and some prisoners will never be released. Release will only take place once this period has been served and the Parole Board is satisfied that the offender can be safely released on life licence. Whole life prisoners are not eligible for Parole Board release.
	The Government keeps sentencing under review and is committed to ensuring offenders face tough sentences which protect and command the confidence of the public and are subject to supervision when they are released. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced Extended Determinate Sentences under which all prisoners must serve at least two-thirds of their custodial term and some prisoners may serve their full custodial term in prison if they remain a risk to the public. The Act also introduced mandatory life sentences for a second very serious sexual or violent offence. The Offender Rehabilitation Bill seeks to introduce release on licence, supervision and recall for those serving short sentences. The Government is also considering toughening eligibility for Home Detention Curfew to ensure that offenders earn their consideration for HDC by actively engaging with the prison regime.
	Data on the average time served by sentence length band and the number of offenders released on HDC are published within the discharge tables section of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin which can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly--2

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in his Department since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: This information is available from 1 January 2011 to 31 August 2013. During this period there were a total of 781 lost or stolen identity cards or passes. This covers the Department's HQ offices and its delivery partners HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Information prior to this at HMCTS was not captured centrally and it would incur disproportionate cost to obtain it.
	There are no records of lost or stolen cards being used in attempted unauthorised entry to our sites. Ministry of Justice staff are required to report lost or stolen passes to security as soon as possible and building access rights are then disabled immediately.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the availability of services to support male victims of sexual abuse and violence.

Damian Green: This Government is committed to supporting all victims of rape and sexual violence. In 2013-14 we are providing nearly £4 million to support victims of rape and sexual violence. This is more than ever before. In addition to this over £460,000 is dedicated to supporting male victims of rape and sexual abuse and over £110.000 funds dedicated to specialist male IDVA services to help these victims to recover and move on with their lives. We are also actively looking at future provision to support male victims of rape and sexual violence.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland Grand Committee

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the recent meeting of the Northern Ireland Grand Committee.

Theresa Villiers: The Northern Ireland Grand Committee is a valuable forum for debating Northern Ireland issues.
	The recent meeting in Belfast on 9 September provided an opportunity to reaffirm the importance the House of Commons places on Northern Ireland matters.

Child and Family Poverty

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the effects of social security reforms on levels of child and family poverty in Northern Ireland since 2010.

Theresa Villiers: When fully implemented, the introduction of universal credit will make over 3 million low to middle income households across the UK better off.
	Our reforms will ensure work always pays and help lift people out of poverty by moving them into work.

Fuel Poverty

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how credit unions are being used to combat fuel poverty in Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: Credit unions have a valuable role to play in the provision of affordable credit.
	Tackling fuel poverty is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive but the Government is working to relieve pressure on family budgets by, for example, freezing fuel duty, increasing the state pension by the biggest cash rise in history, and continuing to provide winter fuel payments.

Economic Development

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development.

Theresa Villiers: I have regular discussions with Northern Ireland Ministers on a range of economic matters. Last Tuesday, I chaired the first meeting of a Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance. The taskforce comprises the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), the Minister for Skills and Enterprise, my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock), and the Northern Ireland Ministers for Finance and for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Cross-border Co-operation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of co-operation between the UK and Irish governments in relation to cross-border issues.

Theresa Villiers: The relationship between the UK and Ireland has never been better, as emphasised by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach at their summit in March.
	We work closely with the Irish Government on a range of matters, including security co-operation. Further cross-border co-operation takes place between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government.

Derry/Londonderry

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to support Derry/Londonderry following the city’s year as UK city of culture.

Theresa Villiers: Derry/Londonderry is having a spectacular year. I have visited the city on a number of occasions to support city of culture events including the All Ireland Fleadh in August.

Good Friday Agreement

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the Government’s implementation of its responsibilities under the Good Friday agreement.

Theresa Villiers: The Government is fully supportive of the Belfast Agreement and its successors and the institutions they established.
	These institutions have delivered unprecedented political stability in Northern Ireland and we will continue to work enthusiastically with the Executive on rebalancing the economy and building a cohesive and shared society.

Security Situation

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The threat level in Northern Ireland remains Severe, with persistent planning and targeting by terrorists. However, action by the PSNI and its partners continues to keep the pressure on these terrorist groups.

SCOTLAND

Personal Income

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average disposable income is in each constituency in Scotland.

Alistair Carmichael: The only sustainable way to raise living standards is to tackle the country's economic problems head on. We appreciate that times are tough and budgets are squeezed, and that is why we have taken continued action to help with the cost of living, including the increase of the tax-free personal allowance to £10,000 from April 2014—saving a typical taxpayer £705 a year.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes official annual data on regional disposable income. This official statistic provides data for Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) estimates at current prices for the 12 regions and countries of the UK. at NUTS 3 level. A table for the latest available year 2011 follows.
	
		
			 2011 
			 Scotland 2011 £15,654       
			   Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per head at current basic prices in 2011 
			 Eastern Scotland £15,846 South Western Scotland £14,903 North Eastern Scotland £17,968 Highlands and Islands £16,239 
			 Angus and Dundee City £14,641 East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh and Lomond £16,507 Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire £17,968 Caithness and Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty £16,049 
			 Clackmannanshire and Fife £14,434 Dumfries and Galloway £15,256   Inverness and Nairn and Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey £16,530 
			 East Lothian and Midlothian £17,342 East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire mainland £14,430   Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae and Argyll and Bute £15,460 
			 Scottish Borders £16,251 Glasgow City £13,528   Eilean Siar (Western Isles) £15,084 
			 Edinburgh, City of £17,323 Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire £16,458   Orkney Islands £17,973 
			 Falkirk £14,457 North Lanarkshire £14,062   Shetland Islands £17,933 
			 Perth and Kinross and Stirling £16,755 South Ayrshire £16,241     
		
	
	
		
			 West Lothian £14,959 South Lanarkshire £15,322

WORK AND PENSIONS

Telephone Services

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0870, (b) 0845 and (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Esther McVey: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The Department does not operate any 0870 numbers;
	(b) The Department currently operates 180 0845 numbers;
	(c) The Department currently operates 27 0800 numbers.
	There are no alternative geographic numbers for the Department's 0845/0800 service lines. A table listing the total calls received by the Department's 0800 and 0845 telephone numbers for the period September 2012 to September 2013 will be placed in the Library.
	The Child Maintenance Group answered 3,340,300 calls to its main inbound service lines from July 2012 to June 2013.

Anti-slavery Day

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what each Minister in his Department will be doing to acknowledge Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban), gave on 25 June 2013, Official Report, column 242W, to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane).

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming Employment and Support Allowance and in the work-related activity group were sanctioned on more than one occasion in each year since 2008.

Esther McVey: The sanctions regime for people employment support allowance (ESA) in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) changed from the beginning of December 2012. The Department aims to publish a single set of sanction statistics covering JSA and ESA, for the new sanctions regime, as soon as possible. Quality assurance by DWP statisticians of the data underpinning the sanctions statistics is progressing and at an advanced stage. The proposed date will be announced as soon as possible via the DWP statistics section of ‘gov.uk’ and via the ‘Welfare and Benefits’ community at:
	http://www.statsusernet.org.uk

Employment Schemes: Young People

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many businesses in (a) the UK and (b) Bolton North East constituency have taken part in the wage incentive scheme since the introduction of the Youth Contract;
	(2)  how many employees in (a) Britain and (b) Bolton North East constituency have taken part in the wage incentive scheme since the introduction of the Youth Contract.

Esther McVey: In Great Britain between April 2012 up to and including May 2013 there have been 21,460 wage incentive job starts, and between June 2012 up to and including May 2013 wage incentive payments were made to employers in respect of 4,690 young people.
	Information on the number of employers taking part in the scheme is not available because the Department does not routinely collect these data.
	Information on payments, broken down by geography, is currently not available. The data will be developed further, in the future, as part of an Official Statistics series.
	Notes
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. A job start is represented by when a form is issued to an employer when individual, eligible for a wage incentive, starts a job (full or part time).

Funeral Payments

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he issues to local authorities on assessment criteria for Social Fund Funeral Payment applications.

Steve Webb: The Department does not issue guidance to local authorities; however, information on eligibility criteria is available on request in the leaflet DWP 001, and is also available on the GOV.UK website.
	Local Jobcentre Plus partnership managers, as part of their regular liaison meetings with local authority colleagues, are also available to advise.

In Work Credit

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Bolton North East constituency claimed in-work credit in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of individuals who started to receive in-work credit in Great Britain and Bolton North East constituency in each of the last five years are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 Jan to Mar 2013 
			 Great Britain(1) 53,185 62,990 60,825 58,640 16,015 
			 Bolton North East 100 120 100 90 25 
			 (1) The Department does not posses data on the number of in-work credit starts in Northern Ireland, so the answer is only available for Great Britain. Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest five. 2. The data for 2013 cover the period between January and March 2013. March 2013 data are the latest currently available. Source: Resource Management system

Jobseeker's Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants were sanctioned on more than one occasion in each year since 2009-10.

Esther McVey: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Number(1) of sanctions applied(2) to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants by year of decision(3): 1 April 2009 to 21 October 2012 
			  Number of sanctions applied(2) 
			 Year of decision(3) One Two or more 
			 2009-10 315,260 72,930 
			 2010-11 386,450 142,220 
			 2011-12 352,900 114,650 
			 2012-13 273,740 86,370 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. (2)Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied(4), Fixed Length(5) and Entitlement Decision(6) referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. (3)Year of Decision: The financial year in which the decision on the sanction referral was made. The latest available data is available up to and including 21 October 2012. (4)Varied Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision. (5)Fixed Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's Direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question. (6)Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the Jobseeker's Agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the regional breakdown of the number of claimants who have had their jobseeker's allowance stopped during the last year is;
	(2)  how many claimants have had their jobseeker's allowance stopped in the last year.

Esther McVey: The information requested, in the latest year for which figures are available, can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Number(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants with a sanction applied(2) by Jobcentre Plus Group(3): 22 October 2011 to 21 October 2012(4) 
			 Jobcentre Plus Group(5) Total 
			 Great Britain 540,610 
			 Central England 121,920 
			 London and Home Counties 131,300 
			 North East 80,860 
			 North West 74,610 
			 Scotland 47,920 
			 Southern England 56,840 
			 Wales 27,730 
			 Unknown 1,090 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and will include individuals who have a sanction applied(2) in more than one Jobcentre Plus Group(3) eg if an individual has a sanction applied in the North East and also in the North West they will appear twice. The total for Great Britain will count these individuals once and will therefore not be the sum of all the groups. (2) Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied(5), Fixed Length(6) and Entitlement Decision referrals(7) where the decision was found against the claimant. (3) Jobcentre Plus Group: Formerly known as Jobcentre Plus Regions. Jobcentre Plus Groups were updated to reflect changes to the hierarchical structure of Jobcentre Plus implemented on 5 April 2011 from 11 regions to seven groups. (4)( )The latest available data is available up to and including the 21 October 2012. (5) Varied Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the adjudication officer who makes the decision. (6) Fixed Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the adjudication officer's decision on a sanction question. (7) Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage jobseeker's allowance claimants to volunteer for charity work.

Esther McVey: The 'Work Together' initiative was launched nationally by Jobcentre Plus in October 2010 with the aim of encouraging all unemployed people to consider volunteering as a way of improving their job prospects while they are looking for work. More than 800,000 people have so far been signposted to local voluntary and community sector organisations.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimant appeal cases against sanctions are on hold in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 23 August 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr S Harrison.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied to the right hon. Member on 10 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 August 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs J Smith.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied to the right hon. Member on 2 September 2013.

Performance Appraisal

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13.

Esther McVey: The information is in the following table. Although all of our employees are encouraged to declare their disability status on the personnel computer system, declaration is voluntary.
	The Department values diversity within our workforce and is committed to equality. There is a range of complementary initiatives that we are implementing to improve the overall experience of our present and future disabled employees. We have, for example, helped introduce new learning products, available to all civil servants, on disability awareness and avoiding unconscious bias and are promoting this within DWP. We are also leading a pilot to speed up the implementation of reasonable adjustments to support disabled colleagues.
	We are improving the guidance and raising line manager awareness of the need to amend work objectives, when appropriate, as a reasonable adjustment for disabled people. Overall, our proactive approach means that DWP has the highest number of employees in Government participating in the 'Positive Action Pathway' development programme for disabled employees and other under-represented groups.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Performance rating Disabled staff All other staff 
			 Exceeded 13.5 18.4 
			 Achieved 71.8 67.6 
			 Must Improve 9.7 5.8 
			 Others—eg new employees and others not rated 5.0 8.1

Social Security Benefits: British Nationals Abroad

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to prevent the claiming of benefits by people living overseas.

Esther McVey: EU social security co-ordinating regulations require us to pay social security benefits to eligible UK citizens and other nationals living elsewhere. The benefits are limited to contributory benefits for which the claimant must have paid compulsory national insurance contributions or those with specific qualifying conditions, these benefits are paid for a limited period. We do pay some non-contributory benefits too, which includes the winter fuel payment.
	We have robust checks of identity and eligibility in place to protect the benefit system. An individual has to prove their identity and eligibility at the start of a claim to benefit and in any ongoing contact with the Department.

Social Security Benefits: Young People

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which benefits were claimed by people under the age of 25 in each of the last four financial years; and what proportion of such claimants were (a) registered as sick or disabled and (b) lone parents.

Esther McVey: Statistics on which benefits were claimed by people under the age of 25 in each of the last four financial years and what proportion of such claimants are in each statistical group e.g. jobseeker, lone parent or disabled can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203439/tab-tool-guidance.pdf

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Fit for Work decisions in the Work Capability Assessment have been overturned on appeal in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford between 2008 and 2012.

Michael Penning: The information requested, for new claims to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), is shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Number of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in the initial functional assessment for new claims to ESA by local authority and appeal outcome: October 2008 to May 2012 
			  Appeal outcome 
			 Local authority Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld 
			 Gateshead 1,000 1,600 
			 Guildford 100 100 
			 Manchester 1,200 3,400 
			    
			 East London:   
			 Barking and Dagenham 300 1,000 
			 Hackney 900 1,200 
		
	
	
		
			 Havering 300 600 
			 Newham 700 1,300 
			 Redbridge 400 800 
			 Tower Hamlets 800 1,300 
			 Waltham Forest 500 800 
			 Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	The information requested for appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in the functional assessment for repeat claims to ESA and incapacity benefit (IB) reassessments is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the recent finding of the Upper Tribunal that Work Capability Assessment places people with mental health problems at a substantial disadvantage; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: In May 2013 the Upper Tribunal handed down an interim judgment in a judicial review which challenged the process of when and whether the Department obtains further medical evidence for ESA claimants with a mental health condition going through the WCA process. The Upper Tribunal clarified that the Department has not been found to be in breach of its duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, but directed the further steps that should be taken in the proceedings in order to decide the question of whether there are reasonable steps that could be taken in order to avoid the disadvantage it had found to exist.
	The Department does not agree with the judgment and the Court of Appeal have granted permission to appeal it. We welcome this as we believe we have made—and continue to make—significant improvements to the WCA process for people with mental health conditions.
	This appeal will be heard on 21 and 22 October 2013. All proceedings in the Upper Tribunal have been suspended until the appeal has been decided.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of assessments in the Work Capability Assessment for individuals presenting with a musculo-skeletal condition in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford resulted in a Fit for Work decision between 2008 and 2012;
	(2)  what proportion of assessments in the Work Capability Assessment for individuals presenting with a cardio-vascular condition in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford resulted in a Fit for Work decision between 2008 and 2012.

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number and percentage of initial functional assessments resulting in a fit for work decision by condition group and local authority: October 2008 to November 2012 
			 Condition group Local authority Number of decisions Percentage of all decisions 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system Gateshead 200 59 
			  Manchester 400 48 
			  Barking and Dagenham 200 61 
			  Hackney 200 65 
			  Havering 100 61 
			  Newham 300 66 
			  Redbridge 200 58 
			  Tower Hamlets 200 64 
			  Waltham Forest 200 58 
			  Guildford — — 
			     
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Gateshead 1,000 74 
			  Manchester 2,000 63 
			  Barking and Dagenham 900 75 
			  Hackney 900 79 
			  Havering 500 68 
			  Newham 1,200 80 
			  Redbridge 800 75 
			  Tower Hamlets 1,000 80 
			  Waltham Forest 900 73 
			  Guildford 100 58 
		
	
	
		
			 Number and percentage of repeat functional assessments resulting in a fit for work decision for new claims to employment and support allowance (ESA) by condition group and local authority: October 2008 to November 2012 
			 Condition group Local authority Number of decisions Percentage of decisions 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system Gateshead 100 33 
			  Manchester 200 30 
			  Barking and Dagenham — — 
			  Hackney — — 
			  Havering — — 
			  Newham 100 29 
			  Redbridge — — 
			  Tower Hamlets 100 38 
			  Waltham Forest — — 
			  Guildford — — 
			     
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Gateshead 300 41 
			  Manchester 700 33 
			  Barking and Dagenham 200 33 
			  Hackney 200 42 
			  Havering 100 33 
		
	
	
		
			  Newham 200 44 
			  Redbridge 200 37 
			  Tower Hamlets 200 41 
			  Waltham Forest 200 35 
			  Guildford — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Number and percentage of functional assessments resulting in a fit for work decision for incapacity benefits (IB) reassessments by condition group and local authority: March 2011(1) to November 2012 
			 Condition group Local authority Number of decisions Percentage of decisions 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system Gateshead — — 
			  Manchester 100 27 
			  Barking and Dagenham — — 
			  Hackney — — 
			  Havering — — 
			  Newham — — 
			  Redbridge — — 
			  Tower Hamlets 100 34 
			  Waltham Forest — — 
			  Guildford — — 
			     
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Gateshead 200 32 
			  Manchester 600 38 
			  Barking and Dagenham 200 37 
			  Hackney 200 38 
			  Havering 100 37 
			  Newham 300 39 
			  Redbridge 200 43 
			  Tower Hamlets 200 41 
			  Waltham Forest 100 37 
			  Guildford — — 
			 (1) As part of the national roll-out of IB reassessment a limited introductory phase started in March 2011 and the full national roll-out began in April 2011. Therefore figures are from March 2011 onwards. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Percentages are shown to the nearest whole number, '—' denotes that the number/percentage has been suppressed due to a nil or negligible number of decisions. 2. Condition groups are based on the International Classification of Diseases (2010). Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset

Work Programme

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many private sector companies deliver the Government's Work Programme; and what the cost to the public purse has been of those companies' involvement.

Esther McVey: There are 16 Private Sector and two Voluntary and Community Sector prime providers, with c350 Private Sector subcontractors and c480 Voluntary and Community Sector subcontractors delivering the Work programme. Work programme total spend is published in the Work programme stats release, please find link as follows:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209260/wp-costs-to-31-march-2013.pdf

Work Programme

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Government's Work Programme.

Esther McVey: The Work Programme is working. The programmes performance has significantly improved since being launched in June 2011. By the end of June 2012, 24,000 people had found lasting work. By June 2013 this had increased dramatically to 168,000.

Work Programme

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason it is his Department's policy not to employ Jobcentre Plus staff to implement its Work programme.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus have a major role to play in supporting claimants into work—in most cases, individuals are supported through their Jobcentre Plus for one year prior to their referral to the Work programme.
	However, when we looked to set up a programme for the long-term unemployed, or those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, we took an active decision to contract the programme out to a range of private, public and voluntary sector organisations instead of asking Jobcentre Plus staff to deliver it.
	This was done to make sure that we got the best results with some of our hardest to help claimants, for the best price for the taxpayer, delivered as quickly as possible.
	The Work programme replaced a number of existing contracted out programmes which meant that there were already providers on the ground with expertise in the area. This meant that external providers could mobilise additional resources such as staff and buildings quickly and efficiently.
	By contracting the service out, we could reform the funding of welfare-to-work provision and move to a payment-by-results structure in a short space of time.
	We could also introduce competition between two different providers in an area and so drive innovative solutions to long-term unemployment.
	We know that Jobcentre Plus staff successfully support many claimants back into work. But the reform that we needed in such a short space of time could be best delivered, at the best price, by asking external providers to implement the Work programme.